US urges World Court to rule Kosovo declaration of independence legal

US: World Court should endorse Kosovo independence

AMSTERDAM — The United States has urged the U.N.’s highest court to give its stamp of approval to Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia.

The International Court of Justice, widely known as the World Court, is weighing whether the declaration was legal.

The U.S. is one of 29 countries interested in the result — including all five permanent Security Council members — that are addressing the court before it rules next year.

Representing the U.S., Department of State lawyer Harold Koh argued Tuesday that declarations of independence are political acts not regulated by international law.

He said that Kosovo’s move was justified, given historical abuses of the area’s non-Serb population under Serb rule until it was ended by NATO’s 1999 bombing campaign.