ABSTRACT
A legal theory of secession needs to satisfy at least three requirements. It needs to give us the means for determining when a legal right of secession arises. In setting out a legal theory of secession, it is necessary to consider the philosophical underpinnings of the law. The law favours certainty and there is a legal and moral presumption in favour of the status quo. There are two factors that militate in favour of a legal presumption that existing states are legitimate. One has to do with the political fact of sovereignty; the other has to do with the role of such a concept in maintaining the legal order. The concept of sovereignty, which allows the state to preserve itself, increases the stability of most societies. The importance of the principle of sovereignty in maintaining the integrity of the legal system has been neglected in the literature. The desire to abridge sovereignty, though, is precisely what is lacking.
