Is the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo in harmony with international law? The UN General Assembly voted Wednesday to ask the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to advise on this question.

Serbia had asked the UN member states to vote for the ICJ to give a so-called advisory opinion on the question whether Kosovo's declaration of independence is legal. The ICJ, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, which rules on disputes between sovereign states, will now review the matter.

Majority
A simple majority was needed to request the ICJ to deliver an advisory opinion. 77 member states voted in favour of the resolution while 74 countries abstained. Only six countries voted against the Republic of Serbia's request, including the United States. Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Spain voted in favour of the resolution, but the 22 other members of the European Union (EU), which have all recognized Kosovo, abstained.

Serbia sought to have the question placed on the General Assembly's agenda earlier this year as only UN organs may ask the ICJ to deliver advisory opinions.

ICJ advisory proceedings
The ICJ, or World Court, has two functions: to settle disputes between states and to give advisory opinions on legal questions submitted to it by the UN. The proceedings leading to such an opinion may take up to two years.

Advisory opinions are issued by the court do not tend to resolve legal cases but rather advise on the interpretation of the law. Advisory opinions are not binding but benefit from the authority and prestige of the Court. Serbian Foreign Minister Jeremić said his country would respect the Court's decision.

The last advisory opinion given by the ICJ, on 9 July 2004, related to the legal consequences of Israel's construction of a wall in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Illegal and illegitimate
Kosovo, which has been administered by the UN since Western forces drove out Yugoslav forces amid inter-ethnic fighting in 1999, declared its independence on 17 February 2008. Belgrade refuses to recognise its sovereignty, claiming that the declaration of independence was "unilateral, illegal and illegitimate" and in violation with international law.

Serbia, which aspires to join the EU, still considers Kosovo one of its provinces, and Russia, a veto-wielding member of the UN Security Council, has strongly backed Belgrade in the dispute.

Forty-eight countries however, including the US, have so far recognised the decision by Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority to declare independence from Serbia. Most EU member states have done likewise. While 90 percent of Kosovo's population is Muslim, only six members of the 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) have recognised Kosovo's independence to date.