Articles

• Milano, Enrico

Abstract

This article examines Kosovo's territorial status by reviewing the legal basis of its international administration. Despite the reassuring claim that the United Nations and NATO authority in Kosovo is based on Security Council Resolution 1244, the consensual element provided by the agreements underlying that resolution cannot be overlooked. Investigating the validity of these agreements, namely the 3 June 1999 Agreement and the Kumanovo Agreement, means linking the discussion to the application of Article 52 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of the Treaties on the coercion of states. This is necessary, with respect to the Kumanovo Agreement, due to the non-compliance of Operation Allied Force with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and the coercion exercised over the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The picture is further complicated by the expansionist approach of the Security Council in interpreting its powers under Chapter VII. However, not even the broad terms of UN legality seem to encompass the Security Council's power to endorse agreements, which are void under Article 52 VCLT. The conclusion inevitably claims the unlawfulness of NATO security presence and recalls the need for signature of a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between NATO and Belgrade as a means of curing the original illegality.