동티모르(East Timor)의 국가 형성에 관한 조약: 식민지와 독립에 관련된 국제법의 진화

The pre-modern treaties concerning East Timor were primarily focused on balancing power among colonial powers and dividing territories, completely excluding the political will and right to self-determination of the East Timorese people. The 1859 Treaty of Lisbon and its subsequent supplementary agreements were considered legally valid under international law at the time, but in substance, they entrenched colonial inequality through unilateral decisions. Even after World War II, East Timor remained in a subordinate position within the dynamics of international politics, and Portugal failed to take meaningful action despite the UN’s decolonization recommendations. In 1999, the UN-sponsored referendum, the deployment of peacekeeping forces, and the establishment of the transitional administration were seen as institutional experiments that demonstrated how key principles of international law could function in alignment with real-world political structures. However, the international community initially failed to effectively respond to massacres and human rights violations, and the International Court of Justice was unable to deliver a substantive judgment due to Indonesia’s refusal to recognize its jurisdiction—revealing structural limitations of international law. Nevertheless, East Timor’s independence remains a positive example of the realization of self-determination and the legitimacy of humanitarian intervention. Moving forward, institutional improvements are necessary to ensure political stability and rule of law in newly independent states, as well as to strengthen the effectiveness of international organizations.