ICJ: Kosovo's UDI is not a violation of international law, but we did not discuss right to secession
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) announced yesterday its advisory opinion on the legality of the Kosovo's unilateral independence proclamation.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Friday, July 23, 2010
"International law does not have an active provision that limits independence declarations, therefore Kosovo's declaration of independence is not in breach of international law," the court president, Hisashi Owada of Japan, said.
The top UN court stated that it focused on the specific question received from the UN General Assembly, and did not discuss the right to self-determination or secession.
‘The Court is not dealing with the issue of validity of recognitions of Kosovo independence which happened in the meantime', Owada said.
The court found that it had the jurisdiction to answer the question forwarded to it, but not to deal with the issue of the consequences of the UDI, in particular, to determine whether such declarations resulted in a statehood.
The judge also said that the UN Security Council Resolution 1244, which ended the war in Kosovo in 1999, and which Belgrade sees as a guarantee of the country's territorial integrity, contained no arguments to prevent the unilateral proclamation, as its purpose was to establish a temporary administration, without intent to decide on Kosovo's final status.
It was also announced that ten out of 14 judges voted in favor of the ruling.
