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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Kosovo unilateral independence has no foundation in international law

Belgrade, 18 April 2009

Minister of Foreign Affairs Vuk Jeremic stated that by submitting legal arguments over the legality of the unilaterally declared Kosovo independence to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) yesterday, Serbia will try to prove that Kosovo’s unilateral independence has no foundation in international law.

Jeremic told the daily Vecernje Novosti that Serbia’s argumentation is very strong and is based on claims that international documents Resolution 1244, the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act were violated on February 17, 2008.

According to Jeremic, eminent international legal experts worked on the files.

Considering that the ICJ has never examined a legality of secession in its history, participation in this kind of debate has been a professional dream for many lawyers. That’s how we managed to recruit the best ones onto our team, Jeremic explained.

The Serbian government’s website brings excerpts from this interview.

The court examines secession for the first time, which makes this case uncertain until its end:

In our diplomatic efforts we use the fact that this case will affect all other such cases in the future. Since all countries were allowed to send their opinions to the court we wanted as many countries as possible, from various part of the world, to send their opinions regarding the Kosovo independence and whether they think it is against international law.

Are many of the opinions in Serbia’s favour actually a result of our convincing diplomatic Efforts?

Practically all of them are result of Serbia’s persistence and international omnipresence. If we had not tried to explain so energetically the importance the result of this process will have, I don’t know how many opinions would have been submitted.

Do you know what is in those files that will back Belgrade’s defence?

Our legal team exchanged opinions with legal teams of other countries, and based on that I can say that their opinion is very close to ours. The importance of written statements is that it makes the position on Kosovo’s independence ‘concrete’. Now it is almost impossible that tomorrow they will recognise the province’s independence. Particularly important is the fact that some of them are from the EU, which means that it will be impossible to reach a consensus within the EU regarding the province’s independence. Another important aspect is that there is little room for exerting outside pressures on the court.

Will the number of countries supporting either Belgrade or Pristina will be decisive for the court?

The number itself is not crucial. The court will obey international law.

China for the first time decided to send its opinion regarding a case before the ICJ.

That’s another extraordinary element of this process, bearing in mind the influence of China on the world, especially in these days of the global economic crisis.

What is the forthcoming schedule and when can we expect the verdict?

The term for all countries to respond to second motions is July 17. An ral hearing is expected in December, other oral consultations are also possible. There is no deadline for the court to state its opinion but realistically we cannot expect it before April 2010.

If the verdict is in Serbia’s favour, is it possible that some of the countries that recognised Kosovo will withdraw their decision?

This is not impossible at all, based on the talks I had with foreign ministers of some countries. I do not wish to speculate on the number or identities of countries that might do that.

Do you have an impression that you started a personal “war” with some countries while advocating their support before the ICJ?

There is no room for “personal” in international relations. I represent Serbian government policy and it is crystal clear where Kosovo-Metohija is concerned. Kosovo is an integral part of Serbia and it is our constitutional, moral, political and historical obligation to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country. For that defence the government opted for political, legal and diplomatic means. Of course, I support that policy whole-heartedly and I think it has the support of both parliament and the people.

The economic crisis has caused reservations about EU enlargement. Will this priority of the Serbian government have to wait?

Europe does not have the same enthusiasm when it comes to enlargement, but EU membership remains the Serbian government’s priority, no matter how difficult and serious are the boundaries before us. It will be difficult, it will take more time, but in the end I am sure that we will reach our goal. The only prosperous future for the Western Balkans and for Serbia, as the region’s most important country, is full membership in the EU. Visa abolishment for Serbian citizens this year will be a huge step forward.