On UN International Court of Justice Hearings on the Question of the Accordance with International Law of the Unilateral Declaration of Independence by the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government of Kosovo

PRESS RELEASE

The Russian Federation on December 8 delivered an oral statement in the hearings of the UN International Court of Justice on the question of the accordance with international law of the unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo's Provisional Institutions of Self-Government.

The request for an ICJ advisory opinion was sent in 2008 by the UN General Assembly and formulated as follows: "Is the unilateral declaration of independence by the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government of Kosovo in accordance with international law?" This is about the declaration of independence made by Kosovo on February 17, 2008.

Hearings on the case are being held from December 1 to 11 in The Hague, at the International Court of Justice. They opened with oral statements by the representatives of Serbia and the authors of the unilateral declaration of independence. Apart from them, the Court will hear a total of 27 states that have expressed their intention of participating in the oral proceedings. In addition, a number of non-speakers in the hearings have submitted written statements on the merits of the issue.

As is known, Russia considers that Kosovo's unilateral proclamation of independence from Serbia is not in accordance with international law and, in particular, is in flagrant violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1244 of June 10, 1999. In accordance with this resolution, a final settlement of Kosovo's status can be achieved only through negotiations with approval from the Security Council. It is obvious that the unilateral declaration of independence runs counter to this.

A similar position to Russia's has been taken in the Court by many states, including Serbia itself, as well as Argentina, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Brazil, China, Spain and others.

Among our opponents are the United Kingdom, Germany, France, some other European countries, as well as the United States. Their arguments are illustrative: understanding that international law is not on their side, they tend either to prove that it does not regulate the issues of declaration of independence, or to present the Kosovo situation as a unique case not covered under the general rules.

The full text of the Russian oral statement in English will be available at the ICJ website.

December 9, 2009