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Options For Tibet's Future Political Status: Self-Governance Through An Autonomous Arrangement
By Tibet Justice Center (Eva Herzer). Published by: Tibetan Parliamentary & Policy Research Centre. New Delhi, India, 2002.
4. Legal Structures For Autonomous Arrangements The relationship between an autonomous government of a people and a state can take different legal forms. The most important of these are autonomous provinces, federations and associated states:
Autonomous Province or Region
Autonomous provinces are created by the larger state, which authorizes an autonomous government to control local affairs subject to centralized authority of the state. The degree of autonomy in such arrangements can be slight or more substantial, depending on the distribution of governmental powers. Examples include Basque Country, Hong Kong, TAR, Xinjiang, South Tyrol and Chittagong Hill Tracts. Generally, autonomous provinces do not have the right to obtain independence without the approval of the larger state. Generally, the people in an autonomous province have little control over the government of the state.
Federation
In a federation, two or more parties enter into an agreement to establish one central or federal government and several provincial or autonomous governments. Governmental powers are divided between the federal and provincial governments. The federal government generally has more power over issues which affect all of the people, such as foreign affairs, defense and environmental protection, while the provincial governments have more power over local issues, such as education, cultural matters and social services. Often this division of power is set forth in the federation's constitution. One of the best known examples is the USA. Other examples include Canada (Quebec), the United Kingdom (Scotland) and the Russian Federation (Tatarstan). People living in a federation have some control over both the provincial and the federal governments.
The success of a federation depends on a number of factors. First and foremost, the federation must be based on the consent and authority of each entity or people involved. In the case of Zanzibar, for example, the Declaration of Union which resulted in the creation of Tanzania did not enjoy the popular support of the people of Zanzibar, nor of the people of Tanganyika, neither of whom were consulted before the signing of the Declaration. The result of this arrangement has been political unrest and, at times, violence and widespread human rights violations.
Second, in order to avoid overreaching by the stronger governments within the federation, a successful federation requires a supreme constitution that can only be amended by consensus or majority consent of all constituent units. The constitution must clearly delineate the division of power among the governments within the federation. Lastly, the federation must have an independent supreme court to interpret and enforce the constitution and to decide disputes between the various governments of the federation.
A further question that a federation must address is whether or not its component parts have the right of secession, that is, to leave the federation and become independent. The former Soviet Union's constitution provided for the right of secession of the individual republics within the federation. It was this right which helped make the peaceful dissolution of the Soviet Union possible in 1991.
Associated State
In an associated state relationship, the autonomous people or smaller entity is linked to a larger state and has substantial self-governance, with little participation by the larger state. Generally, the smaller state has no influence over the government of the larger state. Usually either party may dissolve the relationship unilaterally. These arrangements are usually based consent and mutual benefit. For example, Micronesia is of strategic importance to the US, while its virtually non-existent economy makes the association very attractive to the islanders. San Marino, which is very small and landlocked in the middle of Italy, benefits from Italy's "protective friendship", a postal union, the Italian currency and the Italian telecommunications system. Its neutrality and open borders to Italy benefit Italy. Other examples are Liechtenstein, Holy See and the Cook Islands.
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