Advisory Opinion on Kosovos Declaration of Independence

On February 17, 2008, the assembly of Kosovo adopted the 2008 declaration of
independence of Kosovo. It was the second declaration of independence by Kosovos native-
Albanian political institutions.

The territory of Kosovo is the subject of a dispute between Serbia and the Republic of
Kosovo established by the declaration. This was the first case regarding a unilateral
declaration of independence to be brought before the court. Serbia opposed this and decided
to seek that such declaration of independence was illegal before the international court of
justice.

On 22 July 2010, the court ruled that Kosovo's declaration of independence was not in
violation of international law.[119][120][121] The President of the ICJ Justice Hisashi
Owada said that international law contains no "prohibition on declarations of independence."
The court also said while the declaration may not have been illegal, the issue of recognition
was a political one.

The conflict between Serbia and Kosovo is the first case of secession in the
international community. Because of this, there were a lot of opinions in the international
court. There were lots of interpretation and the issue is now debatable.

I would favor the ruling of the court as the declaration of independence intact as an
expression of the will of the people of Kosovo, either by refusing to comment on its legality,
or by determining that the international law does not prohibit declarations of independence.
The declaration of independence did not violate any principle of territorial integrity because
under international law, only states must comply with this principle, and not internal entities.

The existence of the state of Kosovo cannot be ignored. Its existence is based on the
right of self-determination by the people of Kosovo.

The principle of efficiency, is "the only principle that can be applied in the case of
Kosovo, since Kosovo fulfills the elements of statehood and its people, territory and
government have nation-building qualities"

However, if this decision would be a precedent to other states or soon to be states
that would also want to unilaterally declare their independence, the international court would
definitely go for separatists movements. This would clearly affect the relationships of the
States.