Континуитет и дисконтинуитет државног правног поретка
Continuity and Discontinuity of the State and Legal System

Summary/Abstract: State and legal issues have been tackled by many Yugoslav jurists, including Slobodan Jovanovic, Milan Gavrilovic, and Stevan Vračar. According to them, there exists a close, organic relationship between the state and law. It is within that context that Professor Stevan Vračar analyzes the issue of continuity and discontinuity of the state legal system, which can be approached, according to him, from different scientific disciplines, including constitutional, as well as international law. However, there has to be taken into account a difference between the continuity of a national legal system and the continuity of international rights and obligations. International legal continuity, namely, depends on the identity of state, while the continuity of a national legal system depends on the social relations within a state. The notions of identity and continuity have been frequently mixed up, leading to a confusion both in theory and practice, so that ,,continuity of state‘‘ is mentioned. In order to bring more light to this issue, identity should be related to the state, and continuity to the legal system. In view of this, a number of Yugoslav text-writers (such as Tassich and Andrassy) talk about the 'identity of state' and international discontinuity or the 'interruption of constitutional continuity'. Discontinuity of a national legal system is a result of changes in the state. Professor Vračar states that the 'criterion for the continuity of a state legal system cannot be in the shape, but in the essence' of the changes. According to him, a state legal system can be discontinued in the case of occupation or revolution. The occupation of a state can be temporary or permanent. A temporary occupation (during wartime) can be considered an incident or a de facto discontinuance of a state legal order. The existing state legal system can be abolished during a long-standing occupation. Contemporary international law prohibits occupation and the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of states, and, thus, the acquisition of territories by force as well. Revolution is aimed at changing the social, political and legal system. Hence, the discontinuity of the national legal order is its logical consequence. Discontinuity of the national legal order means the abolition of the existing legal order, and its replacement with a new order which is original because it is not based on any previous order. In any case, discontinuity of the national legal order has no effect on identity, existence or international position of a state. It is thus necessary to clarify all phenomena and notions so that legal science can get out of the impasse it is still in.

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