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International Court ends two-week hearings on Kosovo
| Dec 12, 2009 09:52 Moscow Time |
Officials of Venezuela and Vietnam were the last to speak at the International Court hearings on the legitimacy of Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence, the hearings that had been on for two weeks and drew to a close on Friday. The officials of Venezuela and Vietnam said that the Kosovo declaration of February 17th, 2008 contradicts international law provisions and the UN Security Council resolution 1244. The Venezuelan lawyer pointed out specifically that the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Union Republic of Yugoslavia and of its legal successor Serbia are guaranteed by other UN Security Council resolutions. He said Kosovo has no right to self-determination, since the province has always been part of Serbia, rather than an independent republic or a colony. Exclusive of Serbia’s officials and those of the self-proclaimed state, the hearings were addressed by the delegations of 27 countries, of which 12 claimed that the Kosovo declaration of independence runs counter to international law. These are the delegations of Russia, Spain, China, Cyprus, Argentina, Romania, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bolivia, Brazil, Venezuela and Vietnam. The International Court’s decision on Kosovo will be consultative, rather than mandatory, in character. Nonetheless, any decision will prove politically important to Kosovo and will create a certain international law precedent.
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