Legal opinion on the validity of Kosovo's declaration of independence
The legal opinion on the validity of Kosovo's declaration of independence ( English Accordance with international law of the unilateral declaration of independence in respect of Kosovo , Albanian Vendimi për Kosovën nga Gjykata Ndërkombëtare e Drejtësisë ) was an opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague at the request of the General Assembly of the United Nations on the status of Kosovo under international law . The Court's decision was announced on July 22, 2010.
prehistory
After the end of the Kosovo war in 1999, the region of Kosovo , which previously belonged to Serbia, was placed under the administration of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo . The powers and responsibilities of the Commission were regulated in UN Security Council Resolution 1244 . The resolution was designed for an indefinite period of time and was valid until the Security Council adopted a change.
On February 17, 2008, the parliament of the Republic of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence, that is, against the will of Serbia. The constitution of Kosovo came into force on June 15, 2008, in which the country's sovereign status was established.
Serbia refused to consent to the independence of Kosovo. On August 15, 2008, Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić lodged a complaint with the United Nations and requested an opinion from the international court of justice. This initiative was approved on October 8, 2008 with 77 votes in favor, 74 abstentions and six votes against.
Decision of the court
The decision was announced on July 22, 2010 by Hisashi Owada , President of the Court. It made it clear that Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence would not be in conflict with international law, as neither customary international law nor international treaty law would prohibit unilateral declarations of independence by a people. In particular, Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence does not violate the territorial integrity of Yugoslavia or Serbia, because territorial integrity as a principle of international law only applies to relationships between states, but not to actors within a state. Nevertheless, the ICJ refers to cases in international law practice in which unilateral declarations of independence have been declared illegal by the UN Security Council (e.g. the declaration of independence by Northern Cyprus ). This was not due to the one-sidedness of the declarations of independence, but to their circumstances. According to the ICJ, unilateral declarations of independence are only contrary to international law if they are accompanied by the unlawful use of force ( general prohibition of violence ) or other gross violations of international law.
The question of what legal status the "Kosovar National Assembly" would have as the proclaimer of the declaration of independence remained unanswered. The court spoke of "representatives of the people of Kosovo" and thus avoided the conflict that arose from the fact that the only legitimate administrative power lay with UNMIK. At the same time, the court confirmed the validity of UN Security Council resolution 1244 , which mentions the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia , of which today's Serbia is the legal successor .
International reactions
As expected, the verdict was welcomed by the Republic of Kosovo and rated negatively by Serbia. The judgment was received favorably by the EU and the USA , and the predominant Western position of diplomatic recognition of Kosovo was legitimized with the judgment.
See also
literature
- Peter Hilpold (Ed.): The IGH's Kosovo report of July 22, 2010. Leiden, Boston 2012, ISBN 978-90-04-20482-9 .
Web links
- Accordance with international law of the unilateral declaration of independence in respect of Kosovo (Overview of the case) - Documents of the International Court of Justice relating to the case
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Accordance with international law of the unilateral declaration of independence in respect of Kosovo (Overview of the case). In: International Court of Justice. Retrieved October 14, 2019 (English, legal opinion on the validity of Kosovo's declaration of independence).
- ^ Christian Walter: Postscript: Self-Determination, Secession, and the Crimean Crisis 2014 . In: Christian Walter, Antje von Ungern-Sternberg, Kavus Abushov (eds.): Self-Determination and Secession in International Law . Oxford University Press , Oxford 2014, ISBN 978-0-19-870237-5 , pp. 299 f. ; Jure Vidmar: The Annexation of Crimea and the Boundaries of the Will of the People . In: German Law Journal . 16, No. 3, 2015, pp. 365-383; Christian Marxsen: The Crimea Crisis - An International Law Perspective . In: Journal for Foreign Public Law and International Law 72, No. 4, pp. 367–391; Otto Luchterhandt : The connection of the Crimea to Russia from an international law perspective . In: Archiv des Völkerrechts 52, Nr. 2, 2014, pp. 137–174. doi: 10.1628 / 000389214X684276 .
- ↑ International court rules that Kosovo independence is lawful , Deutsche Welle
- ↑ Reaction in quotes: UN legal ruling on Kosovo , BBC