The General Assembly Resolution Requesting the Kosovo Opinion and the Ultra Vires Issue
The Hague Justice Portal: Commentaries, 2010
5 Pages Posted: 17 Feb 2011 Last revised: 24 Feb 2011
Date Written: October 15, 2010
Abstract
This short paper analyses the reasoning adopted by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on its jurisdiction in the Kosovo case. It is submitted that this reasoning is not devoid of any ambiguity and could be interpreted as suggesting that the Court endeavoured to analyse the validity of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution by which it was seized, beyond what seems formally required by the relevant UN Charter provisions. It is also noticed that, contrary to previous advisory opinions, the Court sensibly discussed whether the question should have been asked by the Security Council rather than the General Assembly not in the context of its jurisdiction but mostly in relation to its discretionary power to give the advisory opinion.
Keywords: International Court of Justice, Kosovo, advisory opinion, General Assembly, Security Council, jurisdiction, ultra vires
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