Not a Speck of Legality
Kosovo is Serbia protests in Bern, Switzerland. March 1, 2008
Badinter Commission: Borders of the Former Yugoslav Republics Cannot be Changed
The International Law Professor, Dr. Milan Paunovic, explained for Belgrade daily Vecernje Novosti that leaders of Albanian separatists in Kosovo-Metohia province—Hasim Thaci, Agim Ceku and Fatmir Sejdiu—have violated every single act of the international law with their unilateral declaration of independence in Pristina, on February 17 this year.
Beside numerous charters, conventions and decisions, they have also violated the legally-binding decisions of the Badinter Arbitration Commission which, 18 years ago, clearly determined borders of the former Yugoslav republics and put an end to every future discussion about those borders.
When, at the beginning of the 1990s, Slovenian parliament adopted act on declaration of independence, and the Croat assembly started a process of secession from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the international community, wanting the dissolution of Yugoslavia, had to find a way to enable all the former Yugoslav republics to gain international recognition. This led to a Hague Peace Conference on former Yugoslavia.
“The international community formed and authorized Badinter Arbitration Commission to give its recommendations to the Hague Peace Conferece which, at the end of 1991, was led by the British lord Carrington,” Professor Paunovic told Novosti, adding that “the Presidency of SFRY consented to the Conference formation and was obligated to accept its rulings.”
“Based on the practice of the International Court of Justice in the case of 'Burkina Faso against Mali', as well as on the years of practice in creation of the new states in South America, the principle uti posseditis iuris was applied,” Paunovic explained.
“According to this principle, the established borders between the former republics were to remain the same in the SFRY dissolution.”
This, known as "the third decision of the Badinter Arbitration Commission", has the weight of a court ruling which, as Prof. Paunovic explained, means that it has a legally binding power for each of the conflicting sides, and it also represents the legal framework.
Right of Self-Determination Explicitly Prohibited for National Minorities
Asked whether there is a single international legal act which could be in favor of the Pristina separatists, the international law expert replied:
“No, that doesn't exist! They are citing the right of self-determination. However, in the second decision of the Badinter Commission, that right can be exclusively exercised by the nations. All of the European documents and conventions explicitly prohibit national minorities to cite that right — to jeopardize the territorial integrity of a state.”
Danger for the Entire Balkans
“In case the decisions of Badinter Commission are violated, one of the consequences would be that the borders of the new states formed on the territory of former Yugoslavia are no longer safe. That is not only Serbia, but also Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia. Such instability and the renewed legal requests to change the borders, in case there is no clear application of the Commissions' decisions, would create another major crisis and possibly a Balkan war,” Professor Paunovic warns, assessing that this is the wider significance of Pristina separatists' declaration.
Recommended: Soros' Media Brainwashing, Does it Work on Serbs? (YouTube) [unfortunately, the video clip was removed in the meantime - the b92 maggots trolling my site have reported it as offensive, suffice to say it was really well done and showed b92 TV anchors being shot in a video game style]; Buffoon blunders in Kosovo, article by Ross Nelson (In-Forum); High price for recognizing Kosovo's independence, article by Christopher A. Roach (OrlandoSentinel.com); Serbian Folklore Group "Kolo" (YouTube)