International Court of Justice advisory opinion on Kosovo's declaration of independence
| Accordance with International Law of the Unilateral Declaration of Independence In Respect of Kosovo | |
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| Court | International Court of Justice |
| Full case name | Accordance with international law of the unilateral declaration of independence in respect of Kosovo (Request for Advisory Opinion) |
| Decided | 22 July 2010 |
| Citation(s) | Accordance with international law of the unilateral declaration of independence in respect of Kosovo (Request for Advisory Opinion) |
| Case opinions | |
| Kosovo declaration was not in violation of international law (10–4) | |
| Court membership | |
| Judge(s) sitting | Hisashi Owada (President), Peter Tomka (Vice-President), Abdul G. Koroma, Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh, Thomas Buergenthal, Bruno Simma, Ronny Abraham, Kenneth Keith, Bernardo Sepúlveda Amor, Mohamed Bennouna, Leonid Skotnikov, Antônio Augusto Cançado Trindade, Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, Christopher Greenwood |
Accordance with International Law of the Unilateral Declaration of Independence In Respect of Kosovo was a request for an advisory opinion referred to the International Court of Justice by the United Nations General Assembly regarding the 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence. 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.
The court delivered its advisory opinion on 22 July 2010; by a vote of 10 to 4, it declared that "the adoption of the declaration of independence of the 17 February 2008 did not violate general international law because international law contains no 'prohibition on declarations of independence'": nor did the adoption of the declaration of independence violate UN Security Council Resolution 1244, since this did not describe Kosovo's final status, nor had the Security Council reserved for itself the decision on final status. There were many reactions to the decision, with most countries which already recognise Kosovo hailing the decision and saying it was "unique" and does not set a precedent; while many countries which do not recognise Kosovo said they would not be doing so as the ruling could set a precedent of endorsing secession in other places.
The 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence was adopted on 17 February 2008 in a meeting of the Assembly of Kosovo. It was the second declaration of independence by Kosovo's ethnic-Albanian political institutions, the first having been proclaimed on 7 September 1990.
Serbia decided to seek international validation and support for its stance that the declaration of independence was illegal at the International Court of Justice.
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