ICJ Opinion on Kosovo Independence and Its Implication for Taiwan`s Self-Determination

Abstract

On 22 July 2010, in response to a request by the United Nations General Assembly, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an opinion on the Kosovo case, stating that Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence is not in violation of international law. In contrast to the extravagant political and legal controversies concerning Kosovo’s independence before the ICJ opinion was issued, both supporters and opponents of Kosovo’s independence have revealed remarkable self-restraint in their reaction to the opinion. This paper will argue that the ICJ’s actual application of an innovative principle of international law concerning national self-determination, the “democratic remedial secession” principle, effectively resolves the political and legal problems surrounding national self-determination that have wrecked havoc to international political stability for centuries. If applied to China-Taiwan relations, the ICJ opinion would restrain both Taiwan independence and China-unification claims, while endorsing mutually accommodating alternatives, such as a quasi-European Union arrangement.