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The Malvinas/Falklands Between History and Law

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The Malvinas/Falklands Between History and Law THE MALVINAS/FALKLANDS BETWEEN HISTORY AND LAW REFUTATION OF THE BRITISH PAMPHLET “GETTING IT RIGHT: THE REAL HISTORY OF THE FALKLANDS/MALVINAS” by Marcelo G. Kohen and Facundo D. Rodríguez 1 1 Official Seal of the Political and Military Commandment of the Malvinas and Adjacent Islands used by Luís Vernet during Argentine administration 1 To Dora Malvina and Olivia Lea To Santiago 2 About the authors: Marcelo Kohen, PhD, professor of International Law at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva. He is a Titular Member of the Institut de Droit international. Author of more than hundred publications in the field of International Law, in English, French and Spanish. Facundo Rodríguez, Advocate in International Law, graduated from the University of Buenos Aires. Member of the Committee on the Question of the Malvinas, Georgias and South Sandwich Islands of the Argentine Council for International Relations (CARI) and member of several research programmes related to the Question of the Malvinas Islands. 3 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 7 Chapter I ...................................................................................................................... 12 Papal bulls and discovery. British recognition of Spanish sovereignty ........................... 12 A. Papal Bulls and the Tordesillas Treaty ............................................................................. 12 B. Pascoe and Pepper acknowledge that England did not discover the Falklands/Malvinas 14 C. “Rival” names of the islands ........................................................................................... 19 D. Bilateral treaties prove that Britain recognised Spanish sovereignty over the region of the Falklands/Malvinas ................................................................................................................ 20 a) The Treaty of Madrid of 1670 ............................................................................................ 21 b) The 1713 Treaties of Madrid and Utrecht ......................................................................... 23 c) A case of treaty application: Spain’s opposition to the British plan of visiting the Falklands/Malvinas in 1749 ....................................................................................................... 24 d) Pascoe and Pepper recognise that the Treaty of San Lorenzo del Escorial or Nootka Sound of 1790 was applicable to the Falklands/Malvinas ........................................................ 26 Chapter II ..................................................................................................................... 32 The first settlements on the islands. The 1771 Agreement and British abandonment. Spanish withdrawal after the beginning of Argentine process of independence ........... 32 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 32 A. France, the first occupant ............................................................................................... 32 B. The clandestine presence of Great Britain ...................................................................... 33 C. Spanish protests and France’s recognition of sovereignty. .............................................. 34 D. The secret occupation of Port Egmont ............................................................................ 35 E. The transfer of French occupation to Spain ..................................................................... 35 F. The legal point of view .................................................................................................... 39 G. Spain evicts the English fort ............................................................................................ 41 H. Negotiations to avoid war .............................................................................................. 42 I. Britain’s secret promise to evacuate Port Egmont ............................................................ 46 J. London begins to gradually withdraw upon the restitution of fort Egmont ...................... 51 K. The British abandonment of Port Egmont in 1774 and the exclusive presence of Spain in the archipelago ...................................................................................................................... 53 L. The continuous and exclusive presence of Spain in the Falklands/Malvinas until 1811 .... 56 M. The presence of British fishing boats and Spanish exercise of authority ......................... 62 N. The peace of Amiens and French attempts to return to the Falklands/Malvinas ............. 63 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 68 Chapter III .................................................................................................................... 71 Argentine succession to Spain’s rights (uti possidetis) .................................................. 71 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 71 A. A widely recognised rule: uti possidetis iuris or the succession of States to territory. ..... 71 B. Opposability of uti possidetis iuris to Great Britain ......................................................... 72 4 C. Who inherited the Falklands/Malvinas? ......................................................................... 77 D. No Spanish cession was necessary .................................................................................. 80 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 80 Chapter IV .................................................................................................................... 81 Argentine administration, 1810-1833 ........................................................................... 81 A. The first Argentine administrative act concerning the Falklands/Malvinas five days after the constitution of the First Patriotic Government in 1810 ..................................................... 81 B. Spanish withdrawal from the Falklands/Malvinas on February 13th, 1811 ..................... 82 C. 1811-1820: Displays of Argentine sovereignty and the absence of any British claim ........ 84 a) The conduct of British whale and seal hunters. ................................................................ 84 b) General San Martín and the Falklands/Malvinas .............................................................. 86 c) The shipwreck of the “Isabella” ......................................................................................... 87 D. The official taking of possession of the islands by Argentina in 1820 .............................. 90 E. Argentine acts of sovereignty prior to the creation of the Political and Military Commandment of the Malvinas in 1829 ............................................................................... 100 a) Cattle, land and fishing concessions in the Falklands/Malvinas ...................................... 102 b) The British Consul certifies an act regarding the exercise of Argentine sovereignty over the Falklands/Malvinas ........................................................................................................... 103 c) Pablo Areguatí’s appointment as Commander of the Falklands/Malvinas ..................... 104 d) Argentina and the protection of marine life in the South Atlantic ................................. 106 e) The establishment of Argentine-British diplomatic relations and the Treaty of 1825 .... 107 f) The new Argentine concessions to Luis Vernet in the Falkland/Malvinas Islands. .......... 110 g) The creation of the Political and Military Command of the Malvinas Islands and Adjacencies ............................................................................................................................. 113 F. The argument of an alleged British authorization for Vernet’s settlement and Vernet’s supposed British “preference” ............................................................................................. 121 G. The British protest of November 19th, 1829 .................................................................. 126 H. The capture of American ships and the “Lexington´s" attack on Puerto Soledad .......... 128 I. The appointment of an interim Political and Military Commander in 1832 .................... 133 J. The British protest of 1832 ............................................................................................ 134 K. The forcible expulsion of January 3rd, 1833 ................................................................... 135 L. The expulsion of civilians by the British authorities ....................................................... 137 M. The British usurpation of 1833 was in breach of international law ............................... 140 Chapter V ................................................................................................................... 143 The situation after Britain’s ousting of Argentina in 1833 ........................................... 143 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 143 A. The absence
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