Kosovo – the ICJ speaks
The International Court of Justice’s ruling has found Kosovo’s declaration of independence to be neither legal nor illegal, but that international law contains no applicable prohibition of such declarations. By Gerard Gallucci The International Court of Justice (ICJ) today delivered its decision on whether “the unilateral declaration of independence by the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government of Kosovo [is] in accordance with international law?” The Court reportedly began by asserting its jurisdiction: “The court … considers that it has jurisdiction to give an advisory opinion in response to the request made by the (UN) General Assembly….There are no compelling reasons to decline to exercise its jurisdiction in the present request.” The Court also found that international law “contains no applicable prohibition” of declarations of independence and thus concluded “that the declaration of independence on 17 February 2008 did not violate general international law.” The Court also reportedly noted that nothing in UN Security Council Resolution 1244 prevented the unilateral declaration of independence. The Court declared, however, that it did not consider the legality of any right to self determination or succession. Although the Court decision was less ambiguous than many foresaw, it nevertheless seemed to limit itself to a finding of fact. i.e., that international law does not address the issue of declarations of independence. Thus it found the declaration neither legal nor illegal. This will all require a detailed reading – the ICJ website was not prepared for the attention from Kosovo watchers and failed to offer timely access to the decision or a transcript. But the spin cycle has already started. Both sides have readied their diplomatic response. Belgrade had signalled that it plans to follow the decision back to the UN General Assembly, where it will ask for a resolution supporting further negotiations, while taking its case directly to national capitals. Belgrade is reportedly resisting pressure from the EU and US to accept an EU draft resolution that would not call for new negotiations (but perhaps allow for talks on technical matters). In Washington, Vice President Biden repeated US support for Kosovo independence and the US ambassador to Pristina will be meeting with foreign press to make the case for no new negotiations and to preview an expected wave of new recognitions. Pristina and its allies will be energized by the headlines suggesting that the ICJ ruled the declaration “legal” despite the fact that it did no such thing. As everyone understood from the beginning – though the Pristina camp will suggest otherwise – the ICJ decision resolved nothing and the Kosovo status issue remains unsettled. Belgrade has no choice – as long as the Quint remains opposed to new negotiations and a compromise solution – but to continue to reject independence and to support the Serbs in Kosovo. The northern Serbs will continue to reject rule from Pristina and remain unlikely to accept any efforts to force it upon them. What the decision may do is embolden the Albanians (with US support) to renew provocations in the north and the EU to increase pressure on Belgrade by threatening delay on EU membership. The situation on the ground remains dangerous. Another thing the ICJ decision does not do is decrease the potential for violence. Gerard M. Gallucci is a retired US diplomat and UN peacekeeper. He worked as part of US efforts to resolve the conflicts in Angola, South Africa and Sudan and as Director for Inter-American Affairs at the National Security Council. He served as UN Regional Representative in Mitrovica, Kosovo from July 2005 until October 2008. The views expressed in this piece are his own and do not represent the position of any organization. You can read more of Mr. Gallucci’s analysis of current developments in Kosovo and elsewhere by <http://outsidewalls.blogspot.com/> clicking here. If you are interested in supporting the work of TransConflict, please <http://www.transconflict.com/contact/support/donate/> click here. To keep up-to-date with the work of TransConflict, please <http://www.transconflict.com/contact/follow-tc/> click here. Related posts: 1. Kosovo – “a struggle over who gets the north” <http://www.transconflict.com/2010/07/kosovo-a-struggle-over-who-gets-the-north-217/> 2. Walking the Kosovo tightrope <http://www.transconflict.com/2009/07/walking-the-kosovo-tightrope/> 3. Kosovo – what is to be done? <http://www.transconflict.com/2009/11/kosovo-what-is-to-be-done/> 4. Kosovo and the Ahtisaari Plan <http://www.transconflict.com/2009/09/kosovo-and-the-ahtisaari-plan/> 5. Montenegro – in between Serbia and Kosovo <http://www.transconflict.com/2010/02/montenegro-in-between-serbia-and-kosovo/> http://www.transconflict.com/2010/07/kosovo-the-icj-speaks-227/ _______________________________________________ News mailing list News@antic.org http://lists.antic.org/mailman/listinfo/news
