CIAO DATE: 10/2010
September 2010
United States Institute of Peace
On July 22, 2010, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued its long-awaited advisory opinion on the legality of Kosovo’s declaration of independence of February 17, 2008. The expectation had been that the ICJ would offer a mixed ruling that would give some comfort to Serbia and some support to Kosovo. Instead, by a majority of 10 to four, the ICJ concluded that “the adoption of [the] declaration did not violate any applicable rule of international law.” While the advisory opinion will not resolve the longstanding dispute between Belgrade and Pristina, it will facilitate any further recognition of Kosovo.
Resource link: The ICJ's Advisory Opinion on Kosovo [PDF] - 266K