"[92], On 22 July 2010 the International Court of Justice ruled that the declaration did not violate international law, holding that the authors were acting in their capacity as representatives of the people of Kosovo outside the framework of the interim administration (the Assembly of Kosovo and the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government), and were therefore not bound by the Constitutional Framework (promulgated by UNMIK) or by UNSCR1244 that is addressed only to United Nations Member States and organs of the United Nations. There is no rule of international law prohibiting secession. Serbia announced before the declaration that it would withdraw its ambassador from any state which recognised independent Kosovo. After such breaches of their rights, no one could expect the people of Kosovo to agree to continue to live within Serbia. Id. "[9] Moreover, the EU contends that 1244 did not predetermine the outcome of final status talks. Quoting the words of Kosovo Albanian representative Sknder Hyseni, who said that the negotiations were led on "whether or not Serbia will accept Kosovo's independence", Gevorgian said that Ahtisaari's failure does not mean that the process has been concluded. of independence was a violation of international law and the UN Charter, [30], Recognition of Kosovo's independence is controversial. Furthermore, Resolution 1244 provided general principles on which a political solution to the Kosovo crisis was supposed to be based, i.e., "[a] political process towards the establishment of an interim political framework agreement providing for a substantial self-government for Kosovo, taking full account of the Rambouillet accords and the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. [37], Fourteen States which presented written statements also submitted written comments on the other written statements. S/2007/168 (Mar. "[75], In Tirana, the capital of Albania, 'Kosovo Day' was held as a celebration,[76] and a square in central Tirana was named for this occasion. This does not, in and of itself, make Kosovo's secession legal. We often hear that international law is no law, that it does not apply to precedents, and that power is the law. . In 2006, Montenegro declared independence in accordance with the law of Serbia-Montenegro. [25], The Court did not confront the evidence highlighted by the Vice-President, and it would be difficult to do so. The Declaration of independence is a political act. Serbia has made it quite clear that it will never accept an independent Kosovo. Exceptions may be made in urgent cases. [74], United States president George W. Bush welcomed the declaration of independence as well as its proclamation of friendship with Serbia, stating: "We have strongly supported the Ahtisaari plan [implying Kosovo's independence ]. [16], 4. The Cypriot Foreign Minister warned against the EU "breaking international law." adding that those who supported it now admit that Kosovo has become a security [63] Police took 45minutes to arrive at the scene, and the fire was only then put out. The Court properly avoided definitive statements on the concept of remedial self-determination through unilateral secession in the aftermath of fundamental violations of human rights, since there is insufficient state practice and opinio juris, or other relevant sources of international law. Serbia has claimed that this is an occupation and that the EU's move is illegal. The Court should not deal with the broader issue of self-determination in international law, or at least it should see Kosovo as a "special case". The 6 countries that opposed the initiative were: Albania, Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau and United States. The EU has taken the position that Resolution 1244 is not a bar to Kosovo's independence. The first is the presumption in international law that civil and human rights, including of minorities, should be protected, with the aim of demonstrating that these rights were abused by the then-governing Miloevi administration. [8] In the end, only five judges (Tomka, Koroma, Keith, Bennouna, and Skotnikov) voted to not exercise jurisdiction. There is no contradiction between the peacefully declared Declaration of Independence and international law, including Resolution 1244. Phone +1-202-939-6001 [59] In Belgrade and Novi Sad, McDonald's restaurants were damaged by protestors. However, the Kosovar Albanians are more generally perceived as an Albanian ethnic enclave, rather than a nation unto themselves. "[81], On 22 July 2010, the court ruled that the declaration of independence was not in violation of international law. [65], In Montenegro, protests were held in Podgorica on 19 February. And it would be irrelevant whether or not Kosovo had been under international administration. On 9 November 2009 New Zealand formally recognised Kosovo's independence. Serbia rejected the Plan while the Kosovar Albanian leadership endorsed it. Thus, the General Assembly formulated the question based on due consideration by the UN Member States of the factual background.[27]. . Also included were 'general international law instruments universal and regional', such as copies of the UN Charter, Helsinki Final Act, and various agreements on civil and human rights, as well as other legal documents from the wider Balkans (such as the rulings of the Badinter Commission). [24], According to writer Noel Malcolm, the 1903 constitution was still in force at the time that Serbia annexed Kosovo[25][26][27] during the First Balkan War. European Human Rights Court decides to US Extra World Justice Project 2022 Rule of Law Index Pu Court of Arbitration for Sport Code Amended. There is no doubt that after the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Kosovo was a part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, that is, Serbia. The court delivered its advisory opinion on 22 July 2010; by a vote of 10 to 4, it declared that "the adoption of the declaration of independence of 17 February 2008 did not violate general international law because international law contains no 'prohibition on declarations of independence', nor did the adoption of the declaration of independence violate UN Security Council Resolution 1244, since this did not describe Kosovo's final status, nor had the Security Council reserved for itself the decision on final status. Thus, the political process authorized under Resolution 1244 was not yet fully initiated and therefore, a unilateral declaration of independence was premature. The plan, prepared by the UN Special Envoy and former President of Finland, Martti Ahtisaari, stipulated a sort of supervised independence for Kosovo, without expressly using the word "independence" among its proposals. Bogdanovic said that the purpose of the plan is to improve the very difficult [86], Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd backed Kosovan independence on the morning of 18 February, saying "This would appear to be the right course of action. [19] U.S. Please click the button below to get started. "[6] France, the U.K., Germany, and other EU member states have either recognized Kosovo's independence or are in the process of doing so. 1 Accordance with International Law of the Unilateral Declaration of Independence in Respect of Kosovo, Advisory Opinion (Int'l Ct. Justice July 22, 2010). In January 1999, NATO warned that it would intervene militarily against Yugoslavia if it did not agree to the introduction of an international peacekeeping force and the establishment of local government in Kosovo. 17, 2009)). The Assembly appealed to the government Within the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY), Kosovo was an autonomous province within the Republic of Serbia. Since such an agreement was not reached, the Kosovo dispute can be decided only by the UN Security Council. Although the Resolution 1244 referred to the territorial integrity of Yugoslavia, this principle was not the cornerstone for a political solution of Kosovo's status. In relation to this question, one may argue that the ongoing international presence in Kosovo is legally relevant as it is evidence of the international community's determination that the situation in Kosovo was and is highly volatile and that it cannot be solved completely via domestic political structures. The operative paragraphs of Resolution 1244, which the Security Council had enacted as a framework for resolving the status of Kosovo, focus on the cessation of military and paramilitary activities by all parties and the commencement of demilitarization of armed groups (paragraphs 3 and 15), the establishment of an international civilian presence under UN auspices to assist in interim administration (paragraphs 5 through 11), the commencement of international financial assistance to Kosovo, and setting out ongoing reporting requirements. The Albanians established a "parallel state" to provide education and social services while boycotting or being excluded from Yugoslav institutions. The term was first used when Rhodesia declared independence in 1965 from the United Kingdom (UK) without an agreement with the UK. The move attracted criticism from the leaderships of the other Yugoslav republics but no higher authority was in place to reverse the measure. [74] The United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, issued a statement that avoided taking sides and urged all parties "to refrain from any actions of statements that could endanger peace, incite violence or jeopardize security in Kosovo or the region. In the following clashes with several hundred protesters one Ukrainian UNMIK police officer was killed, over 50 persons on each side were wounded and one UNMIK and one KFOR vehicle were torched. [19] Written statements were submitted by the following states (in order of receipt): the Czech Republic,[19] France,[20] Cyprus,[19] People's Republic of China,[19] Switzerland,[19] Romania,[19] Albania,[21] Austria,[22] Egypt,[23] Germany,[19] Slovakia,[19] Russia,[19] Finland,[24] Poland,[25] Luxembourg,[26] Libya,[27] the United Kingdom,[19] the United States of America,[19] Serbia,[19] Spain,[19] Iran,[28] Estonia,[29] Norway,[30] the Netherlands,[19] Slovenia,[19] Latvia,[31] Japan,[32] Brazil,[33] Ireland,[19] Denmark,[19] Argentina,[19] Azerbaijan,[19] Maldives,[34] Sierra Leone,[19] and Bolivia. The 77 countries that voted for the initiative A/63/L.2 of Serbia were: Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Cambodia, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Fiji, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Honduras, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mexico, Montenegro, Myanmar, Namibia, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Norway, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Philippines, Republic of the Congo, Romania, Russia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syria, Tanzania, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Zambia and Zimbabwe. 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