Nadia ASAAD
10.51204/Anali_PFBU_25402A
In response to Serbia’s request, the United Nations General Assembly sought an Advisory Opinion from the International Court of Justice regarding the legality of Kosovo’s 2008 unilateral declaration of independence. Employing a conceptual framework grounded in judicial activism and restraint, this analysis critically examines the Court’s inconsistent exercise of its discretionary powers, applied in stretching and retracting both the scope of the question posed, as well as its own judicial propriety. The Court’s selective engagement with these legal questions reveals an underlying judicial strategy: one that avoids unresolved ambiguities, reflects implicit views on statehood, and navigates the uneasy space international law occupies between norm entrepreneurship and the Court’s commitment to apolitical neutrality and political restraint. Tracing the Court’s reasoning through this lens offers insight into the multifaceted drivers of its interpretive approach to politically sensitive issues, and ultimately, to the evolution of international law.
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