CYIL vol. 9 (2018)

JAN KUKLÍK CYIL 9 ȍ2018Ȏ This armed conflict was not a particularly glorious moment for Czechoslovakia: diplomats had to intervene to help the soldiers. The Czechoslovak frontiers with Hungary were finally determined in 1920 by Article 27 of the so-called Trianon Peace Treaty, but the attitude of the Hungarians towards the new Czechoslovak Republic remained very negative for a long time. 47 In addition, Czechoslovakia had border disputes with Poland, especially over the regions of Cieszyn (Teschen), Orava, and Spiš (Slovakia). Particularly the Cieszyn region was very important for Czechoslovakia, because it had coal reserves and a railway to Slovakia. At the end of 1918 most of the Cieszyn region was occupied by Polish troops, but they were forced out by the Czechoslovak armed forces at the end of January 1919. The incident was vociferously condemned by the Allied Powers because it involved two Allied states. An armed conflict also occurred on the contested territory between Slovakia and Poland, and ended with a ceasefire before the end of 1918. Pending the resolution of the dispute, a demarcation line was drawn both at the Cieszyn region and at Orava and Spiš. Any contentious issues had to be resolved by the Allied Powers in 1920 (with an arbitration award of 28 July adopted in the Belgian town Spa); the result was a compromised solution to divide the contested territory. By the end of 1923, the Council of the League of Nations resolved the last dispute over the village Javorina (Spiš region). 48 While this text is intended to commemorate the jubilee 100 th anniversary of an independent Czechoslovakia, the international legal and political context indicates that it is impossible to isolate and cherish the symbolic date of 28 October 1918 only, because the whole process was far more complicated and much longer. At the same time, the creation of Czechoslovakia undoubtedly added new impetus to international law and politics.

47 In more details, KUKLÍK, J., PETRÁŠ, R.: Minorities and Law in Czechoslovakia, 1918–1992 . Praha: Karolinum, 2017, pp. 30 and following. 48 See the text of this decision in Government Regulation No. 20/1925 Sb. For details regarding the continued dispute over Javorina before the Permanent Court of International Justice, see KRČMÁŘ, J.: Právní základy otázky javorinské [ Legal Issues Surrounding the Javorina Case ], Zahraniční politika 1923, pp. 1417-1426.

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