Trial and Error by Nebojsa Malic / Antiwar.com

http://original.antiwar.com/malic/2009/12/04/trial-and-error/
Trial and Error
by Nebojsa Malic, December 05, 2009

World Court Ponders Kosovo "Independence"

In October 2008, the government in Belgrade gloated for one whole day because the UN General Assembly allowed it to request an advisory opinion from the World Court (International Court of Justice) concerning the "independence" of its occupied province of Kosovo. Only Albania and three South Pacific states joined the U.S. in opposing the request. That may have been slightly embarrassing for Washington, but did absolutely nothing to derail its pet project in the Balkans.

Most likely, neither will the World Court’s decision in the proceedings that finally began at The Hague this week. A ruling by the ICJ matters only to those who abide by international law to begin with. It will have zero effect on countries that have already decided they were above such law and demonstrated this by setting up the "Independent state of Kosovo," or invading Iraq.

Law and Politics

Though it is a legitimate international court (unlike the ad hoc "Tribunal" for war crimes in Yugoslavia, also seated at The Hague), the ICJ has not been immune to matters of politics and power. In 1999, it famously refused to hear Yugoslavia’s case against NATO countries, claiming it had no jurisdiction in the matter.

Just a few years later, however, the ICJ decided Yugoslavia had standing to be sued by the "Bosnian" government (a case originally filed in 1993). Those expecting another railroading of Serbia (Yugoslavia having ceased to exist in 2006), were surprised by the verdict in March 2007, which absolved it of any responsibility for the atrocities in Bosnia.

Continued at link

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Nebojsa Malic left his home in Bosnia after the Dayton Accords and currently resides in the United States. During the Bosnian War he had exposure to diplomatic and media affairs in Sarajevo. As a historian who specializes in international relations and the Balkans, Malic has written numerous essays on the Kosovo War, Bosnia, and Serbian politics. His exclusive column for Antiwar.com debuted in November 2000.