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Chinese Journal of International Law Advance Access originally published online on February 9, 2009
Chinese Journal of International Law 2009 8(1):27-46; doi:10.1093/chinesejil/jmp003
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved

AGORA: KOSOVO

The Independence of Kosovo: A Unique Case of Secession?

JIA Bing Bing*

Correspondence: * Professor of International Law, Tsinghua University Law School, Beijing, People's Republic of China (email: jiab{at}mail.tsinghua.edu.cn). The views expressed here are personal. Thanks are partly due to the "985" Research Grant provided by Tsinghua University, which has enabled me to purchase from foreign publishers two books relevant to this article. Completed on 12 January 2009.

The issuance of the Declaration of Independence by Kosovar authorities in February 2008 has been treated by the United Nations as not capable of creating a precedent in international law. The question remains as to whether the act was in conformity with international law. In resolution A/RES/63/3, the United Nations General Assembly decided to request the International Court of Justice to render an advisory opinion on that question. The Kosovo case, consequently, raises issues that merit further consideration. A legal finding by the Court would be worth all this trouble if it clarified the rules regarding post-colonial-age secessions, even though its conclusion on the situation of Kosovo will not be likely to affect the matter of recognition to any great extent. International intervention as a title to sovereignty is given some truth following these events concerning Kosovo. The conformity or not with international law of a unilateral act always depends on the legality of both the root for its initiation and the original rationale. From this perspective, the independence of Kosovo is indeed a unique case of secession.


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