The Only Legal Basis for Kosovo Talks — Resolution 1244
Director of the Swiss Institute of Federalism, President of the International Association of Constitutional Law and the Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law at the University of Freiburg, Switzerland, Thomas Fleiner.
International Legal Expert: Resolution 1244 the Only Legal Basis for Talks
Director of the Swiss Institute of Federalism and legal adviser of the Serbian negotiation team for the talks on the status of southern Serbian Kosovo province Thomas Fleiner told Tanjug on Thursday that the only legal basis for the talks on the future status of Kosovo and Metohija is UN SC Resolution 1244, which instructs respect of Serbia's sovereignty and search for a solution for the status of Serbian province within the essential autonomy framework.
“Every decision that would step out of that framework would require consensus of both sides and an amendment to Resolution 1244,” clarified Fleiner, who is Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law at the University of Freiburg, Switzerland, and the President of the international Association of Constitutional Law.
Disappointed by the Mediators Ignoring the Law, Resolution 1244 Crystal Clear to Any Lawyer
Professor Fleiner is disappointed over the fact that the mediating Troika (representatives of the EU, Russia and the United States of America — Wolfgang Ischinger, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko and Frank Wiesner, respectively) had so far refused to present their opinion on the contents of UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and its implications on the status issue or to request an independent expert opinion in that respect.
“Text of the resolution is quite clear to any lawyer and it calls for respect of sovereignty and search of a solution for Kosovo only within the essential autonomy framework,” stressed Fleiner in an interview with the national news agency, adding that every decision on the status that would step out of the framework would require a consensus of both sides and an amendment to Resolution 1244.