Spiro Paco

Sovereignty, Statehood and Self-Determination in International Law Spiro Paco

The self-proclamation of Kosovo's independence announced on February 17 invites us to some general considerations that may be linked to the specific event. The first is of a general nature. The independence of this country is inevitably linked to the principle of self-determination, universally recognized in numerous sources of international law, the Charter and in various UN documents. In concrete political history of the United Nations, this principle was explicitly linked to the right of the peoples of the third world countries to free themselves from colonial rule (or the so-called "UN trust") of European countries. In this context, the principle of self-determination has been relatively easy to apply, as was evident, external and unjustified, a situation of foreign oppression.