ABSTRACT

Koskenniemi observed that international law's teleology, its explanation of its final purpose, was to bring order and progress to politics. More directly applicable to unilateral acts, Judge Skotnikov felt that the Court's approach to international law was "misleading" and potentially "inflammatory" for arguing that there were no legal limits on unilateral declarations of independence. In response Serbia informed the secretary general that its parliament had resolved that the declaration was a unilateral declaration of secession and could have no legal effect. Issued in 2011, the Kosovo Advisory Opinion was a recent chapter in the history of unilateral acts. And, as the review of this case demonstrates, the Kosovo Advisory Opinion did not make progress towards the legalization of unilateral acts. The majority held that Kosovo's declaration of independence could be legal but its consequences, secession, were political.