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I. GIVIASVILI, INTERNATIONAL LEGAL ASSESSMENT OF THE RECENT STEPTS TAKEN BY THE RUSSIAN...
matters, violates the 1993 CIS Convention on
Legal Assistance and Legal Relations in Civil,
Family, and Criminal Matters 7 and the 1959
European Convention on Mutual Assistance
in Criminal Matters 8 . Respectively, the violation
of the principle of discharging international
obligations in good faith is evident. Yet another
principle established in international law
and supported by the 1969 Vienna Convention
on the Law of Treaties – pact sunt servanda
– is also violated.
3. INTERNATIONAL LEGAL ANALYSIS
OF THE SHOOTING DOWN THE
UNMANNED (SPY) PLANE OF THE
MINISTRY OF INTERIOR OF GEORGIA
On 20 April, 2008 the unmanned (spy)
plane of the Ministry of Interior of Georgia was
shot down by a fighter in the airial space of
Georgia, in particular in the Autonomous Republic
of Abkhazia. As allaged by the Georgian
side, the plane was shot down by the
fighter of the Russian Federation. There shall
be an internaitonal legal appraisal of the fact
by Georgia.
3.1 Principle of Prohibition of
Use of Force
Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter 9
determines the principle of prohibition of use
of force; in particular it stipulates that all Member
states of the United Nations shall refrain
from the threat or use of force against the territorial
integrity or political independence of
any state. It is apt to mention here that armed
force is considered in the mentioned article
under the use of force. 10
Shooting down of the unmanned (spy)
plane of the Ministry of Interior of Georgia by
other state does certainly constitute a violation
of the principle of prohibition of use of
force, as safeguarded in the Article 2(4) of the
United Nations Charter.
3.2 Act of Aggression
In 1974 the United Nations General Assembly
adopted the Resolution 3314 about the
deifinition of aggression. 11 According to the
Article 1 of the the mentioned Resolution, aggression
is a use of armed force by a State
against the sovereignty, territorial integrity or
political independence of another State. According
to Article 2 of the Resolution, if a state
uses armed force in contravention of the United
Nations Charter, this will constitute prima
facie evidence of an act of aggression. However,
it must be also mentioned that according
to the same Article, the United Nations Security
Council may, in conformity with the Charter,
conclude that a determination that an act
of aggression has been committed is not justified
if the committed act was not of sufficient
gravity. The Article 3 of the Resolution provides
for the acts, which, if committed regardless
of a declaration of war shall qualify as an
act of aggression:
a) the invasion or attack by the armed forces
of a State of the territory of another State,
or any military occupation, however temporary,
resulting from such invasion or attack,
or any annexation by the use of force of the
territory of another State or part thereof;
b) Bombardment by the armed forces of a
State against the territory of another State or
the use of any weapons by a State against
the territory of another State;
c) The blockade of the ports or costs of a
State by the amed forces of another State;
d) An attack by the armed forces of a State
on the land, sea or air forces, or marine and
air fleets of another State;
e) The use of armed forces of one State
which are within the territory of another State
with the agreement of the receiving State, in
contravention of the provisions provided for
in the agreement or any extention of their presence
on such territory beyond the termination
of the agreement;
f) The action of a State in allowing its territory,
which it has placed at the disposal of
another State, to be used by that other State
for perpetrating an act of aggression against
the third State;
g) The sending by or on behalf of a State
of armed bands, groups, irregulars or mercenaries,
which carry out acts of armed force
against another State of such gravity as to
amount to the acts listed above, or its substantial
involvement therein.
According to the Article 3 of the Constitution
of Georgia and the Article 2 of the Law of
Georgia on State Boundaries the territory of
Georgia includes the air space of Georgia, re-
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