Catalonia fought for its independence since the 15th century, and its constitution and autonomy were abolished when it unjustifiably rebelled against Spain in the mid-17th century. In the 19th century the movement re-emerged and continued to grow into the 20th century and further effects were made to revive the Catalan language so as to strengthen their distinct identity. Thus, in September 1932, the autonomy of Catalonia within Spain was established, which obtained full autonomy in 1979. But in 2010, the Spanish Constitutional Court modified the Statute of the Autonomy of Catalonia, establishing that Catalonia does not it was a nation, even if the Catalans could. constitute a nationality. Current constitutional provisions give the Catalan government powers over education, healthcare, culture, urban development and the environment. But many Catalans still seek full independence because they feel a strong sense of cultural identity. And many have economic grievances. According to data from the Spanish Treasury, every year Catalonia pays the Spanish government around 10 billion euros more in taxes than it receives.1 Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay On October 1, 2017, the people of Catalonia voted to separate from Spain in an independence referendum that was declared illegal by Spain. European Union members have not condemned the Spanish government for trying to interfere with the referendum and adopting tactics that some have criticized as repressive and shocking. The EU insisted that the referendum is an internal matter for Spain and that the Spanish Constitution must be respected. One of the biggest problems for Catalonia when claiming independence is that it is illegal under the Spanish constitution. The other main reason was the Spanish government's refusal to allow a referendum to be held. The government's refusal to accept the possibility of Catalan independence clearly hinders the idea of ​​self-determination. These types of denials by governments can establish the immutability of borders and condemn millions of people around the world to remain permanently trapped under the jurisdiction of governments they do not recognize.2 According to Article 4(4) of the Catalan Law on Self-determination referendum, the affirmative outcome of the October 1 referendum gives the Catalan parliament the right to declare independence.3 According to international law it seems very complex on the surface to answer the question whether secession through a unilateral declaration of independence is legitimate or less . It involves both domestic constitutional law and international law. The Spanish court ruled that the referendum was illegal. But the question here is: is host state approval essential for a country to declare independence? The answer must be no, because to argue otherwise is against international law. Article 1.2 of the United Nations Charter4 recognizes the principle of self-determination. The main or fundamental principle of international law states that the provisions of the state constitution cannot be considered intrinsically legal and must be properly equated with international law.5 International Covenants on Human Rights guarantee the right of peoples to self-determination, which also includes the right to self-determination. decide freely on their political status and Spain is part of it. This is universal in nature as it is granted to everyone, including the Catalan people.6 The interventions of the Spanish police in the October 1st referendum represented a clear violationof freedom of expression and assembly of Catalan citizens, granted to Catalan citizens. the inhabitants of Catalonia by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and by the European Convention on Human Rights. The use of excessive force also violated the right to life, the right not to be subjected to degrading treatment, the right to liberty and security as well as other rights recognized by international law.7 In international law it is stated that self -determination is a right of all people and they have the right to freely determine their political status and pursue their economic, social and cultural development. This safeguards the principle of territorial integrity. In international law, the application of the right to self-determination, established in the United Nations Charter, is contrary to the integrity of sovereign states. Legislation passed by the Catalan parliament on September 6 establishes that the result of the referendum is binding. , and if it produced more votes in favor than against, this would imply the independence of Catalonia. The legislation describes Catalonia as a social and democratic republic of law in which the people of the region are sovereign. It is also stated that the European Union and international law will continue to apply and define the sovereign territory of Catalonia. It says EU rules that were in force in Catalonia when it declared independence will continue to apply under the same conditions as established by the bloc's law. It is also stated that EU laws passed after the declaration of an independent state will be automatically integrated into Catalan law. International treaties signed by Spain are incorporated into Catalan law provided that they are considered compatible with their application in that country. The Catalan government will decide within a year which treaties to authorize.8 The Spanish Prime Minister has announced that he will try to activate article 155 of the Spanish Constitution which will allow him to adopt all the necessary measures to guarantee compliance with the law which also provided for the suspension of self-government of Catalonia. This may give a significant reason to Catalonia that it has been deprived of rights and that it would be easier for it to claim secession.9 The Catalonia referendum brought back memories of the situation in Kosovo in 2008. Many have criticized saying that the EU declared legal secession from Serbia which violated international law and the foundation of European law but did not recognize the Catalan right to a referendum on independence. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. While Spain has not recognized Kosovo, 82% of EU states and 86% of NATO states have done so. That the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and many others recognize the unilateral secession of Kosovo, but deny the same right to the Catalans, which clearly demonstrates that political powers have much more to do than legal principles or theorists. Spain's membership of both the EU and NATO means it is treated differently, and this exposes a selective approach to international law. The claim by many that Kosovo deserved independence because its people had suffered greatly under the Belgrade government is in itself an unconvincing argument. It can be argued that states that recognized Kosovo as an independent nation violated the legal obligation to respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia.10 The International Court of Justice in its 2010 advisory opinion on Kosovo helped restore the original scope of theright of self-determination. This right includes the right to establish a sovereign and independent State, enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations as interpreted by the Declaration on Friendly Relations and the International Covenants on Human Rights to which Spain is bound and which it must respect in good faith. according to Article 26 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.11 The International Court of Justice recognizes the right to self-determination “of the peoples of non-self-governing territories and of peoples subject to subjugation, domination and foreign domination”.exploitation. " It also ruled out that international law does not prohibit such a declaration. The reason given by the ICJ is that, although the United Nations Security Council has issued resolutions condemning situations involving unilateral declarations of independence, the resolutions only condemn aspects of 'unlawful use of force or other violations of international law rather than the aspect of unilateral declaration. Therefore, Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence did not violate general international law. The ICJ found that the documents did not prohibit the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo and therefore determined that the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo does not violate international law. However, most international scholars agree that international law does not imply the right to secede and can only be tolerated in rare circumstances such as in Kosovo and Bangladesh. Since Spain is a democratic nation that respects human and international rights (recognized the right to self-determination leading to remedial secession), so Catalan has no arguments based on international law because international law tolerates secession in extreme and rare cases . The Kosovo situation was different due to the fact that when Kosovo was the part of Serbia that was under the rule of Slobodan Milosevic who engaged in brutal tactics to suppress an independence seeking rebellion brewing in Kosovo. Therefore, international communities were involved, as NATO led the air strikes, the EU led administrative, security and civilian missions. In a very short time it was recognized as a new state by many international communities such as the United States, Germany, etc., but not by Spain. Many countries distinguish Kosovo as a unique situation that should not create any kind of precedent in international law. On the other hand, the Spanish government never engaged in the violation of human rights in Catalonia and the situation remained peaceful. Therefore, the international community is involved in Catalonia and it remains an internal issue. Secession is legal under international law only if the parent states agree. This usually happens in civil war. But the country usually prohibits secession. According to section two of the Spanish Constitution of 1978, it is declared to be founded on the indissoluble unity of the Spanish Nation, the common and indivisible homeland of all Spaniards. So according to Spanish constitutional law it is illegal to claim independence. Unlike the situation in Kosovo where Kosovo's UNMIK constitutional framework did not prohibit the declaration of independence, the referendum of 1 October 2017 is considered unconstitutional under the Spanish Constitution.12 There is no legal basis for recognizing Catalonia as independent state under international law because for the reasons that they had their representative in the central government, they were not oppressed, discriminated against or colonized. Merely distinct culture does not contribute to the right to self-determination under international law. There.