ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses various aspects of the duty of non-recognition with reference to developments that have occurred in Western Sahara over the last four decades. After setting out the key questions surrounding the doctrine of recognition, and evaluating its formalistic and discretionary character, the chapter considers the phenomenon of implied recognition by recourse to the legal controversies surrounding the EU/Morocco trade and fishing agreements and their putative application in relation to Western Sahara. The chapter then reflects on the consequences of the duty of non-recognition regarding persistent illegal situations and territorial claims, before closing with a detailed assessment of the 2022 judgment delivered by the African Court of Human and People's Rights in the Bernard Mornah Case, which engages directly with the situation prevailing in Western Sahara.
