On Of Peoples To Self-determination And Independence For Kosovo

On February 17th 2008, Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia, which immediately drew different reactions from international community. A number of States recognized independence of Kosovo, while some other States refused granting recognition to Kosovo even expressed that independence declaration of Kosovo violated the norms of international law being illegal. The recognition side and the non-recognition side constitute opposite camps, between which one of their key debates is whether Kosovo possesses the right of peoples'self-determination and then secedes from Serbia in international law.Under colonial context and the situation of subjection to alien subjugation, domination or exploitation, the people have the self-determination right. There is virtually no controversy about this point. Beyond this scope, based on evolution of the principle of peoples'self-determination experienced in the second half of the past century, contemporary international law including Declaration on Principles of International doesn't preclude the exercising possibility of external self-determination, namely, secession. However, reference to concrete exercising of such possibility, there has not yet a set of definite regulation set up in international law.Kosovo's status has used to be an autonomous province within Serbia. As to the legality question of Kosovo's independence declaration, the General Assembly adopted resolution to enquiry the International Court of Justice (ICJ). On July 22nd 2010, ICJ delivered its Advisory Opinion considering that, the independence declaration of Kosovo didn't violate any applicable international law. Nevertheless, regarding to the legal result of the independence declaration, whether Kosovo has satisfied the qualification criteria of a State, the role of other States'recognition and relevant subjects, in particular, in respect of whether international law invests an entity belonging to the territory of specific sovereign State the right to secede from that State, ICJ didn't say any words. As to in what kind of situation the secession right could be exercised, ICJ kept silent and made no break-through in its Advisory Opinion.Surrounding the debates creating from Kosovo independence, the present dissertation recalled the historical background of Kosovo, discussed whether Kosovo possesses the right of secession from Serbia via carrying out the principle of people's self-determination. Simultaneously, in regarding to whether Kosovo satisfies the qualification criteria of State, and the final status of Kosovo in international law, this article will examine as well and provide constructive opinions. As to aftermath analysis and research on analogous problems of people's self-determination and territory separation disputes in international legal practice, the present writer expects that this article can sacrifice some referential value.