Melnyk A. State Succession of Ukraine with Respect to Treaties of Former USSR

The thesis is devoted to a complex analysis of Ukraine's practice in the sphere of state succession in respect of treaties of former USSR, whereas the latest trends in the development of this institute of international law as well as Ukrainian and foreign doctrine and experience of other successor states are duly taken into account. On this basis the dissertation deals with the preparation of recommendations for improving the existing international legal and domestic mechanisms in order to establish the juridical consequences of state succession.The thesis considers the current status of 1978 Vienna Convention on State Succession in Respect of Treaties under international law. It also identifies the widely recognized principles of international law in the sphere of state succession with respect to treaties that have attained customary character as well as de lege ferenda norms which might obtain that status in future.A special attention is paid to the examination of Ukraine's practice in the sphere ofstate succession with regard to bilateral and multilateral treaties of former USSR, including territorial and law creating treaties. In this respect the question of their juridical status in domestic legal order of Ukraine is thoroughly studied. The dissertation also contains analysis of the Law of Ukraine "On State Succession of Ukraine" of 1991, other legislative documents in this field. On the ground of the conclusions reached concrete proposals are made with a view to bridge the identified gaps and inconsistencies in Ukraine's legislation.