Constitutional status of Kosovo
Encyclopedia
The political status of Kosovo is the subject of a long-running political and territorial dispute between the Serbia
n (and previously, the Yugoslav
) government and Kosovo
's largely ethnic-Albanian population, stemming from the breakup of Yugoslavia at the end of the 20th century, and the ensuing Yugoslav wars
. In 1999 the administration of the province was handed on an interim basis to the United Nations
under the terms of UNSCR 1244
which ended the Kosovo conflict
of that year. That resolution reaffirmed the sovereignty of Serbia over Kosovo but required the UN administration to promote the establishment of 'substantial autonomy and self-government' for Kosovo pending a 'final settlement' for negotiation between the parties.
The UN-sponsored talks began in February 2006, and though no agreement was reached between the parties, a proposal from UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari
was presented in May 2007 which recommended 'supervised independence' for the province. After many weeks of discussions at the UN in New York, the United States, United Kingdom and other European members of the Security Council formally 'discarded' a draft resolution backing Ahtisaari's proposal on 20 July 2007, having failed to secure Russian backing.
and the Treaties of London
and Bucharest
, which led to the loss of most European territory of the Ottoman empire
in 1912 and 1913, Kosovo was governed as an integral part of the Kingdom of Serbia
, while its western part (Metohija
) by the Kingdom of Montenegro
. Before the Ottoman conquest of 1455, it was a part of the Medieval Serbian realm
. In 1918 Montenegro was united with Serbia, subsequently forming the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, recognized in 1919 and 1920 at the Paris Peace Conference
and the League of Nations
and gaining a Constitution in 1921. In 1922 the historical fictive entities were abolished by a state commission and 33 new administrative oblast
s (regions) ruled from the center were instituted. In 1926 the border dispute with the Albanian Republic
was resolved and the Gora
region incorporated into the Yugoslavian Monarchy.
In 1929, the Kingdom (renamed formally to "Yugoslavia
") was restructured into nine larges provinces called banovina
s (Banates), which was formalized by a new Constitution in 1931. Their borders were intentionally drawn so that they would not correspond either to boundaries between ethnic groups, or to pre-World War I state borders. Most of Kosovo was allocated to the Zeta Banate
(Zetska banovina) and smaller bits to the Moravian
and Vardar Banates.
) established Kosovo-Metohia and the northern region of Vojvodina
as autonomous provinces within the People's Republic of Serbia. It also promoted the Vardar
region of southern Serbia to the status of a separate republic, the People's Republic of Macedonia. The constitution, adopted on 31 January 1946, stated that "The People's Republic of Serbia includes the autonomous province of Vojvodina and the
autonomous Kosovo-Metohijan region." It did not spell out the rights and scope of the autonomous provinces, instead stating that this was a matter to be "determined by the constitution of the [parent] republic."
The later Constitution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, adopted on 7 April 1963, again provided for republics to "found autonomous provinces in accordance with the constitution in areas with distinctive national characteristics or in areas with other distinguishing features, on the basis of the express will of the population of these area." Within the Socialist Republic of Serbia
, "there are the autonomous provinces of Vojvodina and Kosovo and Metohija, established in 1945 by decision of the People's Assembly of the People's Republic of Serbia in accordance with the express will of the population of these areas." The details of the rights and scope of the provinces was, again, reserved to the republics' constitutions.
The 1974 Yugoslav Constitution, at the time the world's longest, greatly changed the constitutional setup within Yugoslavia. It increased the autonomy of Kosovo and Vojvodina, and gave both autonomous provinces de facto veto power in the Serbian and Yugoslav parliaments as changes to their status could not be made without the consent of the two Provincial Assemblies. It also granted equal status to the Serbian, Albanian and Turkish languages and alphabets within Kosovo.
This created anomalous situation, sometimes said to be unique in world history, in which any of the provinces of Serbia could veto a decision pertaining to entire Serbia, while the parliament of Serbia could not influence decisions of the provincial parliaments. This led to central Serbia, which was not a political unit, being effectively under control of the provinces.
The 1974 Serbian constitution, adopted at the same time, reiterated that "the Socialist Republic of Serbia comprises the Socialist Autonomous Province of Vojvodina
and the Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo
, which originated in the common struggle of nations and nationalities of Yugoslavia in the National Liberation War [the Second World War] and socialist revolution..." The separately promulgated Constitution of the Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo declared that
The expansion of Kosovo's powers caused considerable discontent among Serbs, and Serbian politicians campaigned for a reversion to Serbian supremacy over the autonomous provinces. It became a rallying cry for a new generation of Serbian politicians. During the 1980s the moderate Serbian communist politician Ivan Stambolić, who became President of Serbia
, urged the other republics to agree to a reduction in provincial autonomy.
Stambolić managed to win over the League of Communists of Yugoslavia
to his position on this matter at the Thirteenth Congress of the LCY, held in 1986, and then set up a commission to work out the details of constitutional reforms. However, Stambolić was deposed by his erstwhile protégé Slobodan Milošević
in 1987, who had used the issue of Kosovo to boost his political support.
. The Speaker of the Assembly nonetheless declared that the amendments had passed and they were duly enacted.
The following year, a new Serbian Constitution was enacted that drastically reduced the powers of the autonomous provinces, reserving many formerly autonomous rights to the central authorities in Belgrade. It also changed back the name of Kosovo from the Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo to the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, returning the province to the status predating the 1970s and using the Serbian name for the western part of the region.
The 1990 constitution was strongly resisted by Kosovo's Albanians, who set up a "shadow" government to parallel the official Serb-dominated establishment. The Albanian-dominated Kosovo Assembly passed an unofficial resolution declaring Kosovo an independent entity within Yugoslavia, equivalent in status to the existing republics. A few days later the Kosovo Assembly was formally dissolved by the Serbian parliament on 5 July 1990, all its laws declared invalid and its legislative functions transferred to the Belgrade legislature. On 22 September 1991, the deposed Albanian members of the Kosovo Assembly met secretly in Pristina
to declare Kosovo an independent sovereign state, the "Republic of Kosova
". However, Albania
was the only country to recognize this declaration of independence.
Kosovo independence was also not supported by the international community, which had maintained a consistent policy since 1991 of upholding the existing borders of the individual republics of Yugoslavia. On 10 October 1991 the CSCE (now the OSCE) warned that member states would "never ... recognize any changes of borders, whether external or internal, brought about by force." The United States, the European Community and the Soviet Union issued a joint statement on 18 October 1991 reaffirming these principles.
The same set of principles remained the cornerstone of international policy towards the former Yugoslavia throughout the Yugoslav wars
. Thus, for instance, the international community insisted on retaining Bosnia and Herzegovina
and Croatia
as unified states, denying recognition to the breakaway Republika Srpska
and Republic of Serbian Krajina
.
of 1999. The ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army
sought to obtain independence for Kosovo, launching attacks on Serbian and Yugoslav security forces in Kosovo. The Serbian and Yugoslav governments strongly opposed this and instituted an increasingly severe military crackdown on Kosovo Albanian separatism, which eventually led to NATO launching a campaign of air strikes.
The international community also did not support independence for Kosovo at this stage. The United Nations Security Council
passed UN Security Council Resolution 1160
on 31 March 1998 urging the parties to reach a peaceful settlement and rejecting any unilateral attempts to redraw borders, instead "affirming the commitment of all Member States to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia." The same principles were reaffirmed in a high-level meeting during the 1999 NATO bombing campaign, when the G8
foreign ministers adopted a policy of establishing "an interim administration for Kosovo ... under which the people of Kosovo can enjoy substantial autonomy within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia".
On 2 June 1999, a joint Finnish-Russian team headed by former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari
presented a set of proposals to President Milošević. These included a commitment to establish "an interim political framework agreement providing for substantial self-government for Kosovo, taking full account of the Rambouillet accords and the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the other countries of the region." Under severe pressure from the ongoing NATO bombing, Milošević agreed to withdraw Yugoslav forces from Kosovo and permit the establishment of a UN-led administration in the province, with security to be provided by a NATO-led force (KFOR).
Kosovo's constitutional status of the period June 1999-February 2008 was established by the United Nations in UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1244, adopted on 10 June 1999. The Security Council placed Kosovo under the temporary administration of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), under the leadership of a Special Representative of the Secretary General. It also explicitly upheld the existing sovereignty of Serbia over Kosovo, "reaffirming the commitment of all Member States to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the other States of the region, as set out in the Helsinki Final Act and annex 2 [the Finnish-Russian proposals]." It also established a requirement that the post-conflict status process must take full account of "the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia."
In a public speech on 9 June 1999, President Slobodan Milošević declared:
The reality on the ground was rather different, as Ylber Hysa has noted. Although "Resolution 1244 respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, including Kosovo", and even provided for Serbian troops to be stationed in the province, on the ground "certain territories are under the full control of KFOR and the international administration" without any Serbian involvement. However, this part of the resolution was never implemented. The severely circumscribed control exercised by Serbia in Kosovo has led many commentators to describe the nature of its sovereignty as purely "nominal".
William G. O'Neill comments that the resolution's wording was also intended "to reassure Republic of Macedonia, which has a substantial Albanian minority, that its territorial borders were not at risk. It also can be seen as a warning to Albania not even to think about any territorial expansion to create a 'greater Albania'."
On 15 May 2001, UNMIK enacted a "Constitutional Framework for Provisional Self-Government." Although it provides a constitutional framework, it is not a constitution, and is deliberately nonjudgmental on the question of sovereignty, as UNMIK itself does not have a role in the determination of Kosovo's final status. It defines Kosovo as "an entity under interim international administration" and "an undivided territory".
Crucially, Kosovo's own institutions were specifically barred from making any unilateral decisions about the province's status. The Constitutional Framework states that the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government
(PISG) "shall not in any way affect or diminish the ultimate authority of the SRSG [Special Representative of the Secretary General] for the implementation of UNSCR 1244". The Kosovo Assembly is in effect prohibited to make any decisions or declarations on the future status of Kosovo There are no Ministers for Foreign Affairs or Defence as these functions are reserved to the authority of the SRSG. UNMIK eventually approved the creation of Ministries of Justice and Internal Affairs in late 2005, but noted that the establishment of the ministries was not linked to the question of Kosovo's final status.
The 2003 Constitution of the newly created state of Serbia and Montenegro
officially acknowledged Kosovo's new interim status, describing Serbia and Montenegro as "the state of Montenegro and the state of Serbia which includes the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina and the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, the latter currently under international administration in accordance with UN SC resolution 1244." In 2006, Serbia drafted a new constitution that again referred to Kosovo as an integral part of Serbia.
Serbia's interference in Kosovo has caused significant problems. UNMIK was given exclusive rights to manage Kosovo's economic affairs and stated its intent in the Constitutional Framework to establish a market economy
. Prior to 1999, much of Kosovo's economy had been controlled by the state. All publicly owned enterprises were owned by the Yugoslav government or the Serbian state, both governed from Belgrade. When UNMIK began implementing privatization
of assets that it did not own, Serbs with interests in the companies subject to privatization sued first UNMIK and then the UN in New York.
Swedish economist Jessica Johnsson claims that the fact that Kosovo is still regarded in law as being part of Serbia, as well as the ongoing political tensions, has caused it significant difficulties in achieving economic development and that its uncertain legal status has prevented it from accessing lending from International Financial Institutions such as the World Bank
.
's 1903 constitution. Over 6.6 million people were entitled to vote in the national referendum. Kosovo did not vote. During the nearly one-century of Serbian rule in Kosovo, this is the only attempt to legally incorporate Kosovo into Serbia, and it was seen by Albanians as an attempt to prejudge the result of the negotiations. In the preamble
to the constitution it states that "Kosovo is an autonomous province of Serbia with significant autonomy". Serbian legal scholars found that this unambiguous statement means it would be unconstitutional for Kosovo to secede from Serbia.
Security Council
Resolution 1244
, passed in 1999, reaffirmed in its preamble the "commitment of all Member States to the sovereignty and territorial integrity
of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" and authorised "an international civil presence in Kosovo in order to provide an interim administration for Kosovo under which the people of Kosovo can enjoy substantial autonomy within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia", i.e. the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
(UNMIK), with security provided by a NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR). The Resolution also authorised a process to determine Kosovo's final status. Concerning the latter, Annex 1 to the Resolution states that the "political solution to the Kosovo crisis" should take "full account of ... the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia".
A NATO report on the question of Kosovo's status, the Declaration on Friendly Relations, states a region may have the right of secession in the case of foreign occupation or if the region is a colony of another nation. The NATO report claims, while mentioning disagreement on the interpretation, that a third condition exists when "a people whose right to internal self-determination has been thoroughly violated by a Government that does not represent the people" and suggests Kosovo qualifies under this condition. It concludes that while there is a case in favor of a right to secession for Kosovo, but rejects the right to secession in cases where regions are open to democratic mechanisms.
, began in February 2006 with the aim of completing them by the end of that year. Whilst progress was made on technical matters, both Kosovo and Serbia remain diametrically opposed on the question of status itself. Prime Minister of Kosovo's Provisional Institutions
, Agim Çeku
stated that his government would accept nothing less than independence and would not contemplate partition. On the part of Serbia, Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica
stated Serbia would give Kosovo full autonomy but could not accept independence. The position of the Contact Group
of leading nations is that Kosovo "must remain multi-ethnic and the settlement must be acceptable to the people of Kosovo. Additionally, there will be no return of Kosovo to the pre-1999 situation, no partition of Kosovo and no union of Kosovo with any other, or part of another, country."
In February 2007, Ahtisaari delivered a draft status settlement proposal to leaders in Belgrade and Pristina, the basis for a draft UN Security Council Resolution which proposes 'supervised independence' for the province. As of early July 2007 the draft resolution, which is backed by the United States, United Kingdom and other European members of the Security Council, had been rewritten four times to try to accommodate Russian concerns that such a resolution would undermine the principle of state sovereignty. Russia, which holds a veto in the Security Council as one of five permanent members, has stated that it will not support any resolution which is not acceptable to both Belgrade and Pristina.
After many weeks of discussions at the UN, the United States, United Kingdom and other European members of the Security Council formally 'discarded' a draft resolution backing Ahtisaari's proposal on 20 July 2007, having failed to secure Russian backing. Kosovo Albanian leaders reacted by proposing unilateral independence for 28 November 2007, though the UN would be required to overrule any such action.
. In February 2008, Hashim Thaçi
said that about 100 countries were ready to immediately recognise Kosovo's independence after declaration.
Kosovo declared independence
on 17 February 2008. On 18 February 2008 the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia declared Kosovo's declaration of independence as null and void per the suggestion of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, after the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Serbia deemed the act illegal arguing it was not in coordination with the UN Charter, the Constitution of Serbia, the Helsinki Final Act, UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (including the previous resolutions) and the Badinter Commission.
A constitution of the Republic of Kosovo was proclaimed on 15 June 2008, and immediately denounced as illegal by Serbia.
said Serbia would request the International Court of Justice
to review the legality of Kosovo's declaration of independence. On 8 October 2008 the UN General Assembly adopted Serbia
's resolution requesting the International Court of Justice
to assess the legality of Kosovo's declaration of independence
. The United Nations General Assembly adopted this proposal on 8 October 2008 with 77 votes in favor, 6 votes against and 74 abstentions. On 22 July 2010 the court ruled that the declaration did not breach international law, because in general international law does not deal with declarations of independence and because in this specific case the declaration was not issued by the Assembly of Kosovo
, Provisional Institutions of Self-Government
, or any other official body and thus the authors, who named themselves "representatives of the people of Kosovo" were not bound by the Constitutional Framework (promulgated by UNMIK
) or by UNSCR1244
that is addressed only to United Nations Member States
and organs of the United Nations.
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n (and previously, the Yugoslav
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
) government and Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
's largely ethnic-Albanian population, stemming from the breakup of Yugoslavia at the end of the 20th century, and the ensuing Yugoslav wars
Yugoslav wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars, fought throughout the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. The wars were complex: characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks on the other; but also...
. In 1999 the administration of the province was handed on an interim basis to the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
under the terms of UNSCR 1244
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244, adopted on June 10, 1999, after recalling resolutions 1160 , 1199 , 1203 and 1239 , authorised an international civil and military presence in Kosovo ) and established the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo .Resolution...
which ended the Kosovo conflict
Kosovo War
The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
of that year. That resolution reaffirmed the sovereignty of Serbia over Kosovo but required the UN administration to promote the establishment of 'substantial autonomy and self-government' for Kosovo pending a 'final settlement' for negotiation between the parties.
The UN-sponsored talks began in February 2006, and though no agreement was reached between the parties, a proposal from UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari
Martti Ahtisaari
Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari is a Finnish politician, the tenth President of Finland , Nobel Peace Prize laureate and United Nations diplomat and mediator, noted for his international peace work....
was presented in May 2007 which recommended 'supervised independence' for the province. After many weeks of discussions at the UN in New York, the United States, United Kingdom and other European members of the Security Council formally 'discarded' a draft resolution backing Ahtisaari's proposal on 20 July 2007, having failed to secure Russian backing.
Status in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Following the Balkan warsBalkan Wars
The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe in 1912 and 1913.By the early 20th century, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, the countries of the Balkan League, had achieved their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large parts of their ethnic...
and the Treaties of London
Treaty of London, 1913
The Treaty of London was signed on 30 May during the London Conference of 1913. It dealt with the territorial adjustments arising out of the conclusion of the First Balkan War.-History:...
and Bucharest
Treaty of Bucharest, 1913
The Treaty of Bucharest was concluded on 10 August 1913, by the delegates of Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro and Greece.As Bulgaria had been completely isolated in the Second Balkan War , and as it was closely invested on its northern boundary by Romania and on its western frontier by the...
, which led to the loss of most European territory of the Ottoman empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
in 1912 and 1913, Kosovo was governed as an integral part of the Kingdom of Serbia
Kingdom of Serbia
The Kingdom of Serbia was created when Prince Milan Obrenović, ruler of the Principality of Serbia, was crowned King in 1882. The Principality of Serbia was ruled by the Karađorđevic dynasty from 1817 onwards . The Principality, suzerain to the Porte, had expelled all Ottoman troops by 1867, de...
, while its western part (Metohija
Metohija
Metohija , is a large basin and the name of the region covering the southwestern part of Kosovo.It encompasses three of the seven districts of Kosovo, namely the historical :* District of Peć * District of Đakovica * District of Prizren...
) by the Kingdom of Montenegro
Kingdom of Montenegro
The Kingdom of Montenegro was a monarchy in southeastern Europe during the tumultuous years on the Balkan Peninsula leading up to and during World War I. Legally it was a constitutional monarchy, but absolutist in practice...
. Before the Ottoman conquest of 1455, it was a part of the Medieval Serbian realm
History of Medieval Serbia
Тhe medieval history of Serbia begins in the 5th century AD with the Slavic invasion of the Balkans, and lasts until the Ottoman occupation of 1540.- Slavic invasion :...
. In 1918 Montenegro was united with Serbia, subsequently forming the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, recognized in 1919 and 1920 at the Paris Peace Conference
Paris Peace Conference, 1919
The Paris Peace Conference was the meeting of the Allied victors following the end of World War I to set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers following the armistices of 1918. It took place in Paris in 1919 and involved diplomats from more than 32 countries and nationalities...
and the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
and gaining a Constitution in 1921. In 1922 the historical fictive entities were abolished by a state commission and 33 new administrative oblast
Oblast
Oblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic countries, including some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"...
s (regions) ruled from the center were instituted. In 1926 the border dispute with the Albanian Republic
Albanian Republic
The Albanian Republic was the official name of Albania as enshrined in the Constitution of 1925. Albania became a de facto protectorate of the Kingdom of Italy after the signing of the Treaties of Tirana of 1926 and 1927. Albania was later declared a constitutional monarchy in 1928...
was resolved and the Gora
Gora
Gora may refer to:*Gora , a clan of Jats found in north India*Gora or gaura, a Hindi and Indo-Aryan word for a light-skinned person*Gora , by Indian Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore...
region incorporated into the Yugoslavian Monarchy.
In 1929, the Kingdom (renamed formally to "Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
") was restructured into nine larges provinces called banovina
Banovina
Banovina may refer to:* One of the subdivisions of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1929 to 1941* Any territory ruled by a ban * Banovina in central Croatia, also known as Banija...
s (Banates), which was formalized by a new Constitution in 1931. Their borders were intentionally drawn so that they would not correspond either to boundaries between ethnic groups, or to pre-World War I state borders. Most of Kosovo was allocated to the Zeta Banate
Zeta Banovina
The Zeta Banovina or Zeta Banate was a province of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1929 and 1941. This province consisted of all of the present-day Montenegro as well as adjacent parts of Central Serbia, Kosovo, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina...
(Zetska banovina) and smaller bits to the Moravian
Morava Banovina
The Morava Banovina or Morava Banate was a province of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1929 and 1941. This province consisted of parts of present-day Central Serbia and it was named for the Morava Rivers...
and Vardar Banates.
Status in Communist Yugoslavia
The first Constitution of the Federative People's Republic of Yugoslavia (later renamed the Socialist Federal Republic of YugoslaviaSocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
) established Kosovo-Metohia and the northern region of Vojvodina
Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
as autonomous provinces within the People's Republic of Serbia. It also promoted the Vardar
Vardar
The Vardar or Axios is the longest and major river in the Republic of Macedonia and also a major river of Greece. It is long, and drains an area of around . The maximum depth of river is ....
region of southern Serbia to the status of a separate republic, the People's Republic of Macedonia. The constitution, adopted on 31 January 1946, stated that "The People's Republic of Serbia includes the autonomous province of Vojvodina and the
autonomous Kosovo-Metohijan region." It did not spell out the rights and scope of the autonomous provinces, instead stating that this was a matter to be "determined by the constitution of the [parent] republic."
Socialist Republic of Serbia
Socialist Republic of Serbia was a socialist state that was a constituent country of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It is a predecessor of modern day Serbia, which served as the biggest republic in the Yugoslav federation and held the largest population of all the Yugoslav...
, "there are the autonomous provinces of Vojvodina and Kosovo and Metohija, established in 1945 by decision of the People's Assembly of the People's Republic of Serbia in accordance with the express will of the population of these areas." The details of the rights and scope of the provinces was, again, reserved to the republics' constitutions.
The 1974 Yugoslav Constitution, at the time the world's longest, greatly changed the constitutional setup within Yugoslavia. It increased the autonomy of Kosovo and Vojvodina, and gave both autonomous provinces de facto veto power in the Serbian and Yugoslav parliaments as changes to their status could not be made without the consent of the two Provincial Assemblies. It also granted equal status to the Serbian, Albanian and Turkish languages and alphabets within Kosovo.
This created anomalous situation, sometimes said to be unique in world history, in which any of the provinces of Serbia could veto a decision pertaining to entire Serbia, while the parliament of Serbia could not influence decisions of the provincial parliaments. This led to central Serbia, which was not a political unit, being effectively under control of the provinces.
The 1974 Serbian constitution, adopted at the same time, reiterated that "the Socialist Republic of Serbia comprises the Socialist Autonomous Province of Vojvodina
Socialist Autonomous Province of Vojvodina
Socialist Autonomous Province of Vojvodina , also known shortly as SAP Vojvodina , was one of the two socialist autonomous provinces of the Socialist Republic of Serbia from 1963 to 1990 and one of the federal units of the Socialist Federal...
and the Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo
Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo
Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo was one of the two socialist autonomous areas of the Socialist Republic of Serbia incorporated into the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1974 until 1990...
, which originated in the common struggle of nations and nationalities of Yugoslavia in the National Liberation War [the Second World War] and socialist revolution..." The separately promulgated Constitution of the Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo declared that
The expansion of Kosovo's powers caused considerable discontent among Serbs, and Serbian politicians campaigned for a reversion to Serbian supremacy over the autonomous provinces. It became a rallying cry for a new generation of Serbian politicians. During the 1980s the moderate Serbian communist politician Ivan Stambolić, who became President of Serbia
President of Serbia
The President of Serbia is the head of state of Serbia. Presently serving as the head of state is Boris Tadić. He was elected with a narrow majority of 50.31% in the 2008 Serbian presidential elections.-Authority, legal and constitutional rights:...
, urged the other republics to agree to a reduction in provincial autonomy.
Stambolić managed to win over the League of Communists of Yugoslavia
League of Communists of Yugoslavia
League of Communists of Yugoslavia , before 1952 the Communist Party of Yugoslavia League of Communists of Yugoslavia (Serbo-Croatian: Savez komunista Jugoslavije/Савез комуниста Југославије, Slovene: Zveza komunistov Jugoslavije, Macedonian: Сојуз на комунистите на Југославија, Sojuz na...
to his position on this matter at the Thirteenth Congress of the LCY, held in 1986, and then set up a commission to work out the details of constitutional reforms. However, Stambolić was deposed by his erstwhile protégé Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
in 1987, who had used the issue of Kosovo to boost his political support.
Under Slobodan Milošević
The much harder-line Milošević pushed for a tougher policy towards the Kosovo Albanians. On 28 March 1989 he had the Serbian Constitution amended to give the Serbian Assembly exclusive rights to decide on the constitutional structure of the country, overturning the veto right of Kosovo and Vojvodina. When the proposed amendments were put before the Kosovo Assembly, the majority of the Assembly's members abstained in protest and the vote failed to reach the necessary two-thirds supermajoritySupermajority
A supermajority or a qualified majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level or type of support which exceeds a simple majority . In some jurisdictions, for example, parliamentary procedure requires that any action that may alter the rights of the minority has a supermajority...
. The Speaker of the Assembly nonetheless declared that the amendments had passed and they were duly enacted.
The following year, a new Serbian Constitution was enacted that drastically reduced the powers of the autonomous provinces, reserving many formerly autonomous rights to the central authorities in Belgrade. It also changed back the name of Kosovo from the Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo to the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, returning the province to the status predating the 1970s and using the Serbian name for the western part of the region.
The 1990 constitution was strongly resisted by Kosovo's Albanians, who set up a "shadow" government to parallel the official Serb-dominated establishment. The Albanian-dominated Kosovo Assembly passed an unofficial resolution declaring Kosovo an independent entity within Yugoslavia, equivalent in status to the existing republics. A few days later the Kosovo Assembly was formally dissolved by the Serbian parliament on 5 July 1990, all its laws declared invalid and its legislative functions transferred to the Belgrade legislature. On 22 September 1991, the deposed Albanian members of the Kosovo Assembly met secretly in Pristina
Pristina
Pristina, also spelled Prishtina and Priština is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous municipality and district....
to declare Kosovo an independent sovereign state, the "Republic of Kosova
Republic of Kosova
The Republic of Kosova was an secessionist state proclaimed in 1991 by a parallel parliament representing the Albanian population of Kosovo, recognized only by the Republic of Albania...
". However, Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
was the only country to recognize this declaration of independence.
Kosovo independence was also not supported by the international community, which had maintained a consistent policy since 1991 of upholding the existing borders of the individual republics of Yugoslavia. On 10 October 1991 the CSCE (now the OSCE) warned that member states would "never ... recognize any changes of borders, whether external or internal, brought about by force." The United States, the European Community and the Soviet Union issued a joint statement on 18 October 1991 reaffirming these principles.
The same set of principles remained the cornerstone of international policy towards the former Yugoslavia throughout the Yugoslav wars
Yugoslav wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars, fought throughout the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. The wars were complex: characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks on the other; but also...
. Thus, for instance, the international community insisted on retaining Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
and Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
as unified states, denying recognition to the breakaway Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska is one of two main political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
and Republic of Serbian Krajina
Republic of Serbian Krajina
The Republic of Serbian Krajina was a self-proclaimed Serb entity within Croatia. Established in 1991, it was not recognized internationally. It formally existed from 1991 to 1995, having been initiated a year earlier via smaller separatist regions. The name Krajina means "frontier"...
.
Status and the Kosovo War
Kosovo's status was a key issue in the political violence that presaged the Kosovo WarKosovo War
The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
of 1999. The ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army
Kosovo Liberation Army
The Kosovo Liberation Army or KLA was a Kosovar Albanian paramilitary organization which sought the separation of Kosovo from Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the 1990s....
sought to obtain independence for Kosovo, launching attacks on Serbian and Yugoslav security forces in Kosovo. The Serbian and Yugoslav governments strongly opposed this and instituted an increasingly severe military crackdown on Kosovo Albanian separatism, which eventually led to NATO launching a campaign of air strikes.
The international community also did not support independence for Kosovo at this stage. The United Nations Security Council
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
passed UN Security Council Resolution 1160
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1160
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1160, adopted on March 31, 1998, after noting the situation in Kosovo, the Council, acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, imposed an arms embargo on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia .Some countries had suggested a comprehensive arms...
on 31 March 1998 urging the parties to reach a peaceful settlement and rejecting any unilateral attempts to redraw borders, instead "affirming the commitment of all Member States to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia." The same principles were reaffirmed in a high-level meeting during the 1999 NATO bombing campaign, when the G8
G8
The Group of Eight is a forum, created by France in 1975, for the governments of seven major economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1997, the group added Russia, thus becoming the G8...
foreign ministers adopted a policy of establishing "an interim administration for Kosovo ... under which the people of Kosovo can enjoy substantial autonomy within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia".
On 2 June 1999, a joint Finnish-Russian team headed by former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari
Martti Ahtisaari
Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari is a Finnish politician, the tenth President of Finland , Nobel Peace Prize laureate and United Nations diplomat and mediator, noted for his international peace work....
presented a set of proposals to President Milošević. These included a commitment to establish "an interim political framework agreement providing for substantial self-government for Kosovo, taking full account of the Rambouillet accords and the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the other countries of the region." Under severe pressure from the ongoing NATO bombing, Milošević agreed to withdraw Yugoslav forces from Kosovo and permit the establishment of a UN-led administration in the province, with security to be provided by a NATO-led force (KFOR).
Temporary administration of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo
In a public speech on 9 June 1999, President Slobodan Milošević declared:
The reality on the ground was rather different, as Ylber Hysa has noted. Although "Resolution 1244 respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, including Kosovo", and even provided for Serbian troops to be stationed in the province, on the ground "certain territories are under the full control of KFOR and the international administration" without any Serbian involvement. However, this part of the resolution was never implemented. The severely circumscribed control exercised by Serbia in Kosovo has led many commentators to describe the nature of its sovereignty as purely "nominal".
William G. O'Neill comments that the resolution's wording was also intended "to reassure Republic of Macedonia, which has a substantial Albanian minority, that its territorial borders were not at risk. It also can be seen as a warning to Albania not even to think about any territorial expansion to create a 'greater Albania'."
On 15 May 2001, UNMIK enacted a "Constitutional Framework for Provisional Self-Government." Although it provides a constitutional framework, it is not a constitution, and is deliberately nonjudgmental on the question of sovereignty, as UNMIK itself does not have a role in the determination of Kosovo's final status. It defines Kosovo as "an entity under interim international administration" and "an undivided territory".
Crucially, Kosovo's own institutions were specifically barred from making any unilateral decisions about the province's status. The Constitutional Framework states that the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government
Provisional Institutions of Self-Government
The Provisional Institutions of Self-Government or 'PISG' are the local administrative bodies in Kosovo established by the United Nations administration in that province under the terms of UNSCR 1244...
(PISG) "shall not in any way affect or diminish the ultimate authority of the SRSG [Special Representative of the Secretary General] for the implementation of UNSCR 1244". The Kosovo Assembly is in effect prohibited to make any decisions or declarations on the future status of Kosovo There are no Ministers for Foreign Affairs or Defence as these functions are reserved to the authority of the SRSG. UNMIK eventually approved the creation of Ministries of Justice and Internal Affairs in late 2005, but noted that the establishment of the ministries was not linked to the question of Kosovo's final status.
The 2003 Constitution of the newly created state of Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro was a country in southeastern Europe, formed from two former republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia : Serbia and Montenegro. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, it was established in 1992 as a federation called the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
officially acknowledged Kosovo's new interim status, describing Serbia and Montenegro as "the state of Montenegro and the state of Serbia which includes the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina and the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, the latter currently under international administration in accordance with UN SC resolution 1244." In 2006, Serbia drafted a new constitution that again referred to Kosovo as an integral part of Serbia.
Serbia's interference in Kosovo has caused significant problems. UNMIK was given exclusive rights to manage Kosovo's economic affairs and stated its intent in the Constitutional Framework to establish a market economy
Market economy
A market economy is an economy in which the prices of goods and services are determined in a free price system. This is often contrasted with a state-directed or planned economy. Market economies can range from hypothetically pure laissez-faire variants to an assortment of real-world mixed...
. Prior to 1999, much of Kosovo's economy had been controlled by the state. All publicly owned enterprises were owned by the Yugoslav government or the Serbian state, both governed from Belgrade. When UNMIK began implementing privatization
Privatization
Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector or to private non-profit organizations...
of assets that it did not own, Serbs with interests in the companies subject to privatization sued first UNMIK and then the UN in New York.
Swedish economist Jessica Johnsson claims that the fact that Kosovo is still regarded in law as being part of Serbia, as well as the ongoing political tensions, has caused it significant difficulties in achieving economic development and that its uncertain legal status has prevented it from accessing lending from International Financial Institutions such as the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
.
Serbian constitutional referendum
A referendum on a proposed draft of the new Serbian constitution was held on 28 October and 29 October 2006 and has resulted in the draft constitution being approved by the Serbian electorate. The constitution is Serbia's first as an independent state since the Kingdom of SerbiaKingdom of Serbia
The Kingdom of Serbia was created when Prince Milan Obrenović, ruler of the Principality of Serbia, was crowned King in 1882. The Principality of Serbia was ruled by the Karađorđevic dynasty from 1817 onwards . The Principality, suzerain to the Porte, had expelled all Ottoman troops by 1867, de...
's 1903 constitution. Over 6.6 million people were entitled to vote in the national referendum. Kosovo did not vote. During the nearly one-century of Serbian rule in Kosovo, this is the only attempt to legally incorporate Kosovo into Serbia, and it was seen by Albanians as an attempt to prejudge the result of the negotiations. In the preamble
Preamble
A preamble is an introductory and expressionary statement in a document that explains the document's purpose and underlying philosophy. When applied to the opening paragraphs of a statute, it may recite historical facts pertinent to the subject of the statute...
to the constitution it states that "Kosovo is an autonomous province of Serbia with significant autonomy". Serbian legal scholars found that this unambiguous statement means it would be unconstitutional for Kosovo to secede from Serbia.
Prior opinions
United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Security Council
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
Resolution 1244
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244, adopted on June 10, 1999, after recalling resolutions 1160 , 1199 , 1203 and 1239 , authorised an international civil and military presence in Kosovo ) and established the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo .Resolution...
, passed in 1999, reaffirmed in its preamble the "commitment of all Member States to the sovereignty and territorial integrity
Territorial integrity
Territorial integrity is the principle under international law that nation-states should not attempt to promote secessionist movements or to promote border changes in other nation-states...
of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" and authorised "an international civil presence in Kosovo in order to provide an interim administration for Kosovo under which the people of Kosovo can enjoy substantial autonomy within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia", i.e. the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo or UNMIK is the interim civilian administration in Kosovo, under the authority of the United Nations. The mission was established on 10 June 1999 by Security Council Resolution 1244...
(UNMIK), with security provided by a NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR). The Resolution also authorised a process to determine Kosovo's final status. Concerning the latter, Annex 1 to the Resolution states that the "political solution to the Kosovo crisis" should take "full account of ... the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia".
A NATO report on the question of Kosovo's status, the Declaration on Friendly Relations, states a region may have the right of secession in the case of foreign occupation or if the region is a colony of another nation. The NATO report claims, while mentioning disagreement on the interpretation, that a third condition exists when "a people whose right to internal self-determination has been thoroughly violated by a Government that does not represent the people" and suggests Kosovo qualifies under this condition. It concludes that while there is a case in favor of a right to secession for Kosovo, but rejects the right to secession in cases where regions are open to democratic mechanisms.
Kosovo status process
UN-backed talks on the status of Kosovo, led by UN Special Envoy Martti AhtisaariMartti Ahtisaari
Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari is a Finnish politician, the tenth President of Finland , Nobel Peace Prize laureate and United Nations diplomat and mediator, noted for his international peace work....
, began in February 2006 with the aim of completing them by the end of that year. Whilst progress was made on technical matters, both Kosovo and Serbia remain diametrically opposed on the question of status itself. Prime Minister of Kosovo's Provisional Institutions
Provisional Institutions of Self-Government
The Provisional Institutions of Self-Government or 'PISG' are the local administrative bodies in Kosovo established by the United Nations administration in that province under the terms of UNSCR 1244...
, Agim Çeku
Agim Çeku
Agim Çeku is the current Minister of Security Forces for the Republic of Kosovo. He is also the former Prime Minister of Kosovo and a chief of the Kosovo Liberation Army . He was born in the village of Ćuška near Peć, in the Yugoslav province of Kosovo .Çeku is an ethnic Albanian...
stated that his government would accept nothing less than independence and would not contemplate partition. On the part of Serbia, Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica
Vojislav Koštunica
Vojislav Koštunica is a Serbian politician, statesman and the president of the Democratic Party of Serbia. He was the last President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, succeeding Slobodan Milošević and serving from 2000 to 2003...
stated Serbia would give Kosovo full autonomy but could not accept independence. The position of the Contact Group
Contact Group
The Contact Group is the name for an informal grouping of influential countries that have a significant interest in policy developments in the Balkans. The Contact Group is composed of United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Russia. It was first created in response to the war...
of leading nations is that Kosovo "must remain multi-ethnic and the settlement must be acceptable to the people of Kosovo. Additionally, there will be no return of Kosovo to the pre-1999 situation, no partition of Kosovo and no union of Kosovo with any other, or part of another, country."
In February 2007, Ahtisaari delivered a draft status settlement proposal to leaders in Belgrade and Pristina, the basis for a draft UN Security Council Resolution which proposes 'supervised independence' for the province. As of early July 2007 the draft resolution, which is backed by the United States, United Kingdom and other European members of the Security Council, had been rewritten four times to try to accommodate Russian concerns that such a resolution would undermine the principle of state sovereignty. Russia, which holds a veto in the Security Council as one of five permanent members, has stated that it will not support any resolution which is not acceptable to both Belgrade and Pristina.
After many weeks of discussions at the UN, the United States, United Kingdom and other European members of the Security Council formally 'discarded' a draft resolution backing Ahtisaari's proposal on 20 July 2007, having failed to secure Russian backing. Kosovo Albanian leaders reacted by proposing unilateral independence for 28 November 2007, though the UN would be required to overrule any such action.
Declaration of independence
Despite official UN and Russian disapproval, the US, UK, and France appeared likely to recognize Kosovar independence if it had been declared on 28 November 2007 or on 10 December 2007, the deadline for an agreement between Kosovo and Serbia set by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moonBan Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon is the eighth and current Secretary-General of the United Nations, after succeeding Kofi Annan in 2007. Before going on to be Secretary-General, Ban was a career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the United Nations. He entered diplomatic service the year he...
. In February 2008, Hashim Thaçi
Hashim Thaci
Hashim Thaçi is the Prime Minister of Republic of Kosovo, the leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo , and former political leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army .-Early life and education:...
said that about 100 countries were ready to immediately recognise Kosovo's independence after declaration.
Kosovo declared independence
2008 Kosovo declaration of independence
The 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence was adopted on 17 February 2008 by individual members of the Assembly of Kosovo acting in personal capacity and not binding to the Assembly itself...
on 17 February 2008. On 18 February 2008 the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia declared Kosovo's declaration of independence as null and void per the suggestion of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, after the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Serbia deemed the act illegal arguing it was not in coordination with the UN Charter, the Constitution of Serbia, the Helsinki Final Act, UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (including the previous resolutions) and the Badinter Commission.
A constitution of the Republic of Kosovo was proclaimed on 15 June 2008, and immediately denounced as illegal by Serbia.
International Court of Justice review
On 27 March 2008 Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk JeremićVuk Jeremic
Vuk Jeremić is a Serbian politician and the current Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Government of Serbia. He was sworn in on May 15, 2007 and reelected on July 7, 2008.-Education:Jeremić was born in Belgrade in 1975 to Miško Jeremić and Sena Buljubašić...
said Serbia would request the International Court of Justice
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands...
to review the legality of Kosovo's declaration of independence. On 8 October 2008 the UN General Assembly adopted Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
's resolution requesting the International Court of Justice
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands...
to assess the legality of Kosovo's declaration of independence
2008 Kosovo declaration of independence
The 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence was adopted on 17 February 2008 by individual members of the Assembly of Kosovo acting in personal capacity and not binding to the Assembly itself...
. The United Nations General Assembly adopted this proposal on 8 October 2008 with 77 votes in favor, 6 votes against and 74 abstentions. On 22 July 2010 the court ruled that the declaration did not breach international law, because in general international law does not deal with declarations of independence and because in this specific case the declaration was not issued by the Assembly of Kosovo
Assembly of Kosovo
The Assembly of Kosovo was originally established by the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo in 2001 to provide 'provisional, democratic self-government'....
, Provisional Institutions of Self-Government
Provisional Institutions of Self-Government
The Provisional Institutions of Self-Government or 'PISG' are the local administrative bodies in Kosovo established by the United Nations administration in that province under the terms of UNSCR 1244...
, or any other official body and thus the authors, who named themselves "representatives of the people of Kosovo" were not bound by the Constitutional Framework (promulgated by UNMIK
United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo or UNMIK is the interim civilian administration in Kosovo, under the authority of the United Nations. The mission was established on 10 June 1999 by Security Council Resolution 1244...
) or by UNSCR1244
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244, adopted on June 10, 1999, after recalling resolutions 1160 , 1199 , 1203 and 1239 , authorised an international civil and military presence in Kosovo ) and established the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo .Resolution...
that is addressed only to United Nations Member States
United Nations member states
There are 193 United Nations member states, and each of them is a member of the United Nations General Assembly.The criteria for admission of new members are set out in the United Nations Charter, Chapter II, Article 4, as follows:...
and organs of the United Nations.
See also
- KosovoKosovoKosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
- SerbiaSerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
- Kosovo Status Process
- Provisional Institutions of Self-GovernmentProvisional Institutions of Self-GovernmentThe Provisional Institutions of Self-Government or 'PISG' are the local administrative bodies in Kosovo established by the United Nations administration in that province under the terms of UNSCR 1244...
- United Nations Mission in Kosovo