Written Response from the Representatives of Kosovo for The
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INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE ACCORDANCE WITH INTERNATIONAL LAW OF THE UNILATERAL DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE BY THE PROVISIONAL INSTITUTIONS OF SELF-GOVERNMENT OF KOSOVO (REQUEST FOR ADVISORY OPINION) FURTHER WRITTEN CONTRIBUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOSOVO 17 JULY 2009 INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE ACCORDANCE WITH INTERNATIONAL LAW OF THE UNILATERAL DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE BY THE PROVISIONAL INSTITUTIONS OF SELF-GOVERNMENT OF KOSOVO (REQUEST FOR ADVISORY OPINION) FURTHER WRITTEN CONTRIBUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOSOVO 17 JULY 2009 TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents ................................................................................................................ iii Abbreviations ..................................................................................................................... vii PART I INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 3 I. Introductory Remarks ............................................................................................. 3 II. Summary of Kosovo’s Further Written Contribution ............................................ 3 III. The Request for an Advisory Opinion, the Question Put to the Court, and the Authors of the Declaration of Independence .................................................... 4 A. The Propriety of the Request for an Advisory Opinion .................................. 5 B. The Meaning and Scope of the Question Contained in General Assembly Resolution 63/3 .............................................................................. 8 C. The Persons Who Issued the Declaration of Independence ............................ 9 CHAPTER II KOSOVO TODAY ........................................................................................ 11 I. International Relations ......................................................................................... 12 II. Constitutional and Internal Developments ........................................................... 16 III. Presence of the International Community ............................................................ 18 IV. Criteria for Statehood ........................................................................................... 23 V. Serbia’s Attitude towards Kosovo ........................................................................ 26 – iii – PART II HISTORY AND CONTEXT ....................................................................... 29 CHAPTER III HISTORY AND CONTEXT ............................................................................. 31 I. The Period before 1945 ......................................................................................... 32 II. Kosovo was a Federal Unit of the SFRY .............................................................. 34 III. The Illegal Removal of Kosovo’s Autonomy in 1989 .......................................... 40 IV. The Period from the 1989 to 1999 ........................................................................ 41 V. The Position of Kosovo Serbs from June 1999 to February 2008 ........................ 51 PART III THE LAW ..................................................................................................... 57 CHAPTER IV THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE DID NOT CONTRAVENE ANY APPLICABLE RULE OF GENERAL INTERNATIONAL LAW ............................. 59 I. The Principle of “Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity” under General International Law did not Preclude the Issuance of the Declaration of Independence ........................................................................................................ 60 A. The Principle of Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity is Addressed Exclusively to States and is not Concerned with the Issuance of Declarations of Independence ........................................................................ 61 B. The Preambular Reference in Resolution 1244 (1999) to “Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity” did not Prohibit the Declaration of Independence ................................................................................................. 66 1. The Text of the Clause ........................................................................... 67 2. Statements Made when the Clause was Adopted .................................. 70 3. Comparison with Clauses in other Resolutions ..................................... 71 – iv – II. The People of Kosovo were Entitled to Exercise their Right of Self- Determination by Declaring Independence through their Elected Representatives ..................................................................................................... 75 A. The Right of Self-Determination under International Law ........................... 76 B. The People of Kosovo were Entitled to Exercise their Right of Self- Determination by Declaring Independence ................................................... 80 CHAPTER V THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE DID NOT CONTRAVENE SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION 1244 (1999) .......................................... 87 I. The Negotiating Texts that Preceded Resolution 1244 (1999) did not Prohibit Kosovo’s Representatives from Declaring Independence ...................... 88 II. Resolution 1244 (1999) Itself did not Prohibit Kosovo’s Representatives from Declaring Independence .............................................................................. 96 A. The Operative Part of Resolution 1244 (1999) did not Prohibit the Declaration of Independence nor Require Serbian Consent to It .................. 96 B. The Preambular Reference in Resolution 1244 (1999) to “Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity” did not Prohibit the Declaration of Independence ............................................................................................... 106 C. References in Resolution 1244 (1999) to Kosovo as Part of the FRY are Factual Statements Addressing the Interim Period ..................................... 107 D. The Relationship of Resolution 1244 (1999) to General International Law .............................................................................................................. 108 III. The Legal Effects of and Political Attitudes towards Resolution 1244 (1999) Changed after Commencement of the Final Status Process ............................... 109 IV. The Declaration did not Violate Resolution 1244 (1999) as an Ultra Vires Act of the PISG or as a Contravention of the 2001 Constitutional Framework .......................................................................................................... 115 – v – V. The Fact that the Declaration did not Contravene Resolution 1244 (1999) is Consistent with the Security Council’s General Practice of Only Imposing Legal Obligations upon States ............................................................................ 119 PART IV SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION ........................................................... 123 CHAPTER VI SUMMARY ................................................................................................ 125 I. Key Elements ...................................................................................................... 125 II. Summary of Kosovo’s Legal Arguments ............................................................ 129 CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................... 137 ANNEXES ANNEX 1 Presentation by President Martti Ahtisaari to the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, 15 June 2009 .......................................................... 143 ANNEX 2 International Steering Group for Kosovo, Pristina, 15 June 2009 .......... 149 – vi – ABBREVIATIONS Ahtisaari Plan ................ Comprehensive Proposal for the Kosovo Status Settlement (S/2007/168/Add.1) (also referred to as “Ahtisaari Settlement” or “CSP”) Contact Group ............... France, Germany, Italy, Russian Federation, United Kingdom, United States of America Dossier ........................... Dossier submitted on behalf of the Secretary-General pursuant to Article 65, paragraph 2, of the Statute of the International Court of Justice EU .................................. European Union EULEX .......................... European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo EUSR ............................. European Union Special Representative FRY ............................... Federal Republic of Yugoslavia G-8 (Group of Eight) ..... Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russian Federation, United Kingdom, United States of America ICO ................................ International Civilian Office ICR ................................ International Civilian Representative ICTY .............................. International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia ISG ................................. International Steering Group KFOR ............................ Kosovo Force (international military presence in Kosovo) KLA ............................... Kosovo Liberation Army PISG .............................. Provisional Institutions of Self-Government of Kosovo SFRY ............................. Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia SRSG ............................. Special Representative of the Secretary-General Troika ............................ European Union/United States of America/Russian Federation Troika on Kosovo UNMIK .......................... United Nations Interim