Announcements /
The International Court of Justice opines on Kosovo’s independence
On July 22, 2010, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague, the Netherlands, issued a non-binding advisory opinion ruling that the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo from Serbia in February 2008 was not illegal under general international law. The ICJ president, Hisashi Owada who delivered the opinion, said international law "contains no applicable prohibition" in regards to Kosovo’s act. The Court found that Security Council resolution 1244 (1999) did not bar the authors of the declaration (persons of the Assembly of Kosovo acting together in their capacity as representatives of the people of Kosovo outside the framework of the interim administration) from issuing a declaration of independence from the Republic of Serbia. Hence, the declaration of independence did not violate Security Council resolution 1244 (1999). Among the 14 judges presiding over the trial, 10 supported the opinion, while 4 were opposed.