The Kosovo Conflict And International Law

This book was first published in 2001. The Kosovo Conflict and International Law provides international lawyers, scholars and students with access to material on the conflict in Kosovo. As well as the basic material relating to Kosovo's status in Yugoslavia before 1999, this volume reproduces the significant documentation on the following issues: the development of the human rights situation, the diplomatic efforts for the settlement of the crisis, the military action against Yugoslavia and the international community's response, court action with regard to the conflict, and the implementation of the principles for a political solution with an international civil and security presence in Kosovo. Dr Krieger's analytical introduction provides the historical and political context as well as an overview of the various legal aspects of the conflict. A chronology and detailed index make the documents more accessible.

The war in Kosovo was a turning point: NATO deployed its armed forces in war for the first time, and placed the controversial doctrine of 'humanitarian intervention' squarely in the world's eye. It was an armed intervention for the purpose of implementing Security Council resolutions-but without Security Council authorization.This report tries to answer a number of burning questions, such as why the international community was unable to act earlier and prevent the escalation of the conflict, as well as focusing on the capacity of the United Nations to act as global peacekeeper.The Commission recommends a new status for Kosovo, 'conditional independence', with the goal of lasting peace and security for Kosovo-and for the Balkan region in general. But many of the conslusions may be beneficially applied to conflicts the world-over.

NATO's air operation against Yugoslavia, undertaken with a view to helping the Kosovo Albanians resist genocide and ethnic cleansing, confronted the international community with a bitter dilemma. In Europe, the choice either to tolerate massive violations of human rights or to infringe the principle of non-use of force, given the absence of explicit authorization by the Security Council, was a challenge never before encountered since the new world order was ushered in by the Charter of the United Nations. This book, a collection of legal essays which emerged from a meeting of members of the French, German, and Polish societies of international law, not only attempts to analyze the Kosovo war from the viewpoint of humanitarian intervention based on the failure of the Rambouillet conference, but also intends to provide an overall picture of the responsibilities incumbent on the international community. Starting with the lifting of Kosovo's autonomy by the Yugoslav federal authorities in 1989/90, it follows the tragic events step by step. Not only are the crimes committed by Yugoslav military units and police as well as by the Kosovo Liberation Army listed in specific detail, an inquiry is also made into NATO's compliance with the applicable standards of humanitarian law. The book concludes with an examination of the future of the province in light of Security Council resolution 1244 of 1999 and the Stability Pact adopted to ensure economic recovery of the entire region.

The 1999 conflict in Kosovo is seen as being as significant for international affairs as the pulling down of the Berlin Wall, because of the centrality of human rights in the build-up, conduct and aftermath of the war. This volume is an attempt to explore this human rights tragedy.

This book traces the failure of international action in Kosovo from the late 1980s until NATO intervention in 1999, and endeavours to explain why, during that time, so many opportunities for making peace were squandered. Applying methodology developed by the EU Conflict Prevention Network, it divides the conflict into four main phases and examines how, at each, chances for settlement were either lost or overlooked. It considers policy alternatives available at the time, and hypothesises reasons why these were ultimately discarded. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including the author’s own experience of the negotiations process, this book presents a hitherto unexplored thesis of the Kosovo conflict, that of a ‘lag’ in international action in relation to the situation on the ground, and seeks to draw from these failures some central lessons for the future of conflict prevention.

The war in Kosovo has been a defining moment in post-Cold War Europe. Kosovo has great importance beyond the Balkans as the most ambitious attempt of the international community to prevent internal conflicts and rebuild a society destroyed by war and ethnic cleansing. As the danger of ethnic conflict prevails in the region and elsewhere around the world, the experience of Kosovo offers important lessons. This is a comprehensive survey of developments in Kosovo leading up to, during and after the war in 1999, providing additionally the international and regional framework to the conflict. It examines the underlying causes of the war, the attempts by the international community to intervene, and the war itself in spring 1999. It critically examines the international administration in Kosovo since June 1999 and contextualizes it within the relations of Kosovo to its neighbours and as part of the larger European strategy in Southeastern Europe with the stability pact. It does not seek to promote one interpretation of the conflict and its aftermath, but brings together a range of intellectual arguments from some sixteen researchers from the Balkans, the rest of Europe and North America.

The Attack on Cirez

“Professor Byers’s book goes to the heart of some of the most bitterly contested recent controversies about the International Rule of Law.” —Chris Patten, Chancellor of Oxford University International law governing the use of military force has been the subject of intense public debate. Under what conditions is it appropriate, or necessary, for a country to use force when diplomacy has failed? Michael Byers, a widely known world expert on international law, weighs these issues in War Law. Byers examines the history of armed conflict and international law through a series of case studies of past conflicts, ranging from the 1837 Caroline Incident to the abuse of detainees by US forces at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Byers explores the legal controversies that surrounded the 1999 and 2001 interventions in Kosovo and Afghanistan and the 2003 war in Iraq; the development of international humanitarian law from the 1859 Battle of Solferino to the present; and the role of war crimes tribunals and the International Criminal Court. He also considers the unique influence of the United States in the evolution of this extremely controversial area of international law. War Law is neither a textbook nor a treatise, but a fascinating account of a highly controversial topic that is necessary reading for fans of military history and general readers alike. “Should be read, and pondered, by those who are seriously concerned with the legacy we will leave to future generations.” —Noam Chomsky