UN rules Kosovo's declaration in 2008 doesn't break international law

Friday 23 July 10

Kosovo scored a significant victory in its struggle to be recognised as a full and legitimate state yesterday when the UN's highest court ruled that its declaration of independence did not break international law.

The advisory opinion on the legality of Kosovo's unilaterally proclaimed independence is an advisory opinion delivered by the International Court of Justice on 22 July 2010 regarding the 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence. The court ruled that Kosovo's declaration of independence was not in violation of general international law.

The 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence was an act of the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government Assembly of Kosovo, adopted on 17 February 2008, which declared Kosovo independent from Serbia. It was the second declaration of independence by Kosovo's ethnic-Albanian political institutions, the first having been proclaimed on 7 September 1990. However, Serbia lost control over Kosovo in 1999 after 11 weeks of NATO bombing of Serbia to halt the oppression of two million ethnic Albanians.

Serbia sought international validation and support for its stance that the 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence is "illegal" at the International Court of Justice, after the United Nations General Assembly approved in October 2008 Serbia's proposal to request an ICJ advisory opinion on the matter

The small Balkan country has been recognised by 69 countries, including the United States and most European Union nations. Some of them – Spain, Cyprus, Romania, Slovakia and Greece – haven’t done it. Why? Mostly because they are afraid this may trigger and empower some nationalist wishes in their own land. It’s expected that some of them change their minds and recognize the validity of Kosovo as a country.

Sources: Belfast Telegraph, BBC, Wikipedia, El Pais, El Mundo