World Court Plays It Safe on Kosovo Decision
The World Court ruled yesterday that Kosovo’s declaration of independence did not violate international law. Yet, the courts stopped short of saying that Kosovo is, in fact, a legal state.
Legal experts said that while the International Court of Justice had ruled that Kosovo’s declaration of independence was legal, it had avoided saying that the state of Kosovo was legal under international law, a narrow and carefully calibrated compromise that they said could allow both sides to declare victory in a dispute that remains raw even 11 years after the war there.
The war has been over for 11 years and Kosovo has been independent for two, yet they are not legally a country. This does little to resolve the issues facing Kosovo in the international community.
Serbia was adamant that it would never recognize what it had previously called a false state, while Russia, one of its staunchest allies, insisted that the court’s decision did not provide a legal basis for Kosovo’s independence.
For our part, we are supportive of the emerging state and called on Europe to get on board.
The State Department said the ruling was “a judgment we support,” according to The Associated Press. “Now it is time for Europe to unite behind a common future.”
So, why did the court play it safe? Politics as usual.
James Ker-Lindsay, a Balkan expert at the London School of Economics, said the court had trod carefully in weighing the right of a people to self-determination over the right of a sovereign state to territorial integrity, and had decided to sidestep the issue altogether.
“It has essentially said that Kosovo’s legitimacy will be conferred by the countries that recognize it rather than by the court,” he said.
In many ways, I think, that is the way it has always been. However, people have the right to self determination whether the court says so or not. So, it might as well say so.
Category: Politics
How does an independent Kosovo benefit our national security?
I don’t think it does.
I don’t understand why ANY of our troops are there, or anywhere else in the frikkin’ Balkans. That whole area is EUROPE’S problem, and not ours.
I support bringing home every single one of our troops and pieces of equipment from that whole region and letting the Europeans deal with the situation themselves.
We have legitimate causes in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Balkans? Not so much.
I would flip that question around and ask how an independent Kosovo harms our national security. I don’t think it helps or harms,. However, we have a tepid relationship with the Russians and, at best, are tolerated in the Balkins. Supporting Kosavar’s right to self determination is also in keeping with our heritage of supporting emerging democracies. We could use friends in that part of the world and it doesn’t cost us much.
I support ending our military commitment there as well. But we do have an interest in not letting the Russians’ Chechnya mess spill over into other areas. I think that can be done through other means than having a peacekeeping force there.
You do know the findings of the ICJ are non-binding, right?