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ICJˇ¦s Kosovo decision is vague and very
limited
By Chiang Huang-chih «¸¬Ó¦Ŕ
Wednesday, Jul 28, 2010, Page 8
On Thursday last week, following two years of deliberation,
the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, the Netherlands, which is
the principal judicial organ of the UN, finally issued an advisory opinion
regarding the legality of the unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo,
which was, and some maintain still is, a province of Serbia. Although the ICJˇ¦s
advisory opinion is not legally binding, it will still have considerable
political effect. The publication of the advisory opinion was greeted with
celebrations in Kosovo.
Kosovo has reason to celebrate, but the effect of the advisory opinion will
clearly be limited. It says that there is no rule of international law that
prohibits a declaration of independence, and therefore Kosovoˇ¦s unilateral
declaration of independence ˇ§did not violate general international law.ˇ¨
On the other hand, not violating international law does not necessarily mean
being in accordance with it, and it does not necessarily mean that any minority
ethnic group within any territory has the right to demand separation. The
advisory opinion merely says that international law does not prohibit
declarations of independence. Whether any such declaration of independence is
protected in law was not answered by the ICJ.
While the case was under deliberation, experts in international law predicted
that the court would have to consider the actual situation and avoid prompting
minorities in other countries to cause instability by claiming their right to
separation based on the courtˇ¦s decision.
When the court sought opinions from countries, China stressed repeatedly in the
written statement it submitted that international law did not confer a right to
secede to ethnic groups within a state, and that the ICJ respects the
territorial integrity of sovereign states. The advisory opinion does not refute
this position or say that such an opinion is mistaken ˇX it just says that
international law does not prohibit declarations of independence.
There is no consequential relationship between the courtˇ¦s opinion that the
declaration of independence was not unlawful and the question of whether Kosovo
can become a member state of the UN. It is true that the Republic of Kosovo is
recognized by 69 countries, including the US and some EU states. It is also true
that the ICJˇ¦s advisory opinion puts Kosovo and its supporters on the moral and
political high ground and puts Serbian authorities under greater pressure.
Notably, the NATO-dominated UN peacekeeping administration now has greater
justification for demanding concessions from Serbia. Nevertheless, some
countries still oppose independence for Kosovo, and two of them ˇX China and
Russia ˇX have the power of veto in the UN Security Council. The ICJˇ¦s advisory
opinion cannot compel China and Russia to accept Kosovo as a member state of the
UN, and it cannot stop them from exercising their veto.
The ICJˇ¦s stated opinion that Kosovoˇ¦s declaration of independence was not
illegal is indeed a major victory for Kosovo, and for the UK and US, who have
been backing Kosovoˇ¦s attempts to gain independence.
Although this victory lends justification to British and US intervention and
gives it a firmer legal basis, obstacles remain on Kosovoˇ¦s road to
independence. Unless Serbia decides to recognize Kosovo, the existing
differences of opinion among powerful countries regarding Kosovan independence,
the love-hate relations between Kosovo and Serbia and the potential changes that
Kosovan independence might bring about in the overall international situation
are all factors that cannot be resolved by a simple advisory opinion from the
ICJ.
Chiang Huang-chih is an associate professor of law at National
Taiwan University.
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