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The Possibilities for Termination of the Kumanovo Agreement (1999)

Received: 22 April 2022    Accepted: 12 May 2022    Published: 24 May 2022
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Abstract

This article examines the Kumanovo Agreement (1999) as a limitation to Serbian military presence in Kosovo and Metohija (hereinafter shortly: Kosovo) in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999). Namely, the Military Technical Agreement between the International Security Force (“KFOR”) and the Governments of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Serbia, known as the “Kumanovo Agreement”, represents a legal limitation to any involvement of the Serbian military force(s) Kosovo. Nowadays, this act prevent any such involvement even in the case of uncontrolled Albanian invasion against the Serb population in Kosovo. With respect to the Kumanovo Agreement signed in 1999 the consent element (by Serbian party to a treaty) required for such peacekeeping agreements appears to be missing. The absence of consent element of the agreement undermines the legal basis and validity of the Kumanovo treaty reached under apparent coercion in 1999. It appears that Kumanovo Agreement in the absence of proper consent requirement may be interpreted as a dubious act under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (hereinafter VCLT), particularly Article 52 (related to the Coercion of a State by the threat or use of force). Therefore, the Kumanovo Agreement, as an Annex to the Security resolution 1244 (1999), can be considered as an invalid act according to the VLCT. As a consequence of its invalidity, the Serbian government in warlike situations, in case of massive human rights violations by Kosovo authorities against Serbian population, may resort to termination of the Kumanovo Agreement.

Published in Journal of Political Science and International Relations (Volume 5, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.jpsir.20220502.14
Page(s) 58-68
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Serbia, Kumanovo Agreement, Yugoslavia, NATO, UN, Security Council, International Law, Coercion, Jus Cogens, Invalidity

References
[1] Glenny, M. (1996). The Fall of Yugoslavia. London, Penguin.
[2] Janev, I. (2019). Relationalist View on the Dissolution of Former Yugoslavia. In Serbia: Current Political, Economic and Social Issues and Challenges. New York, NOVA pub. 2019.
[3] Chomsky, N., Džalto, D. (2018). Yugoslavia: Peace, War, and Dissolution, PM Press.
[4] United Nations. (1999). UNSC/RES/1244.
[5] Military-Technical Agreement between the International Security Assistance Force (‘KFOR’) and the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Serbia (Kumanovo Agreement) (1999).
[6] Interim Agreement for Peace and Self-Government in Kosovo (Rambouillet Agreement), 1999.
[7] United Nations. (1945). Charter of the United Nations.
[8] United Nations. Vienna Convention on the Representation of States in their Relations with International Organizations of a Universal Character (1975).
[9] United Nations. (1998). UNSC/RES/1160.
[10] United Nations. (1998). UNSC/RES/1203.
[11] International Court of Justice. (1971). Legal Consequences for States of the Continued Presence of South-Africa in Namibia. ICJ Reports.
[12] United Nations. (1948). Admission of a State to the United Nations (Charter, Art. 4), ICJ Reports.
[13] Janev, I. (1999). Legal Aspects of the Use of a Provisional Name for Macedonia in the United Nations System. The American Journal of International Law, 93 (1), 155–160. https://doi.org/10.2307/2997959
[14] Janev, I. (2021). Prespa Agreement and its Effects on Macedonian Right to National Identity: An act of ethno – genocidal termination of the national identity. Lambert pub.
[15] Milano, E. (2003). Security Council Action in the Balkans: Reviewing the Legality of Kosovo's Territorial Status. European Journal of International Law, 14 (5), pp. 999–1022.
[16] United Nations. (1969). Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.
[17] United Nations (1966). International Law Commission. ILC Yearbook (Volume II).
[18] First Agreement of Principles Governing the Normalization of Relations or unofficially Brussels agreement (2013).
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  • APA Style

    Igor Janev. (2022). The Possibilities for Termination of the Kumanovo Agreement (1999). Journal of Political Science and International Relations, 5(2), 58-68. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jpsir.20220502.14

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    ACS Style

    Igor Janev. The Possibilities for Termination of the Kumanovo Agreement (1999). J. Polit. Sci. Int. Relat. 2022, 5(2), 58-68. doi: 10.11648/j.jpsir.20220502.14

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    AMA Style

    Igor Janev. The Possibilities for Termination of the Kumanovo Agreement (1999). J Polit Sci Int Relat. 2022;5(2):58-68. doi: 10.11648/j.jpsir.20220502.14

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  • @article{10.11648/j.jpsir.20220502.14,
      author = {Igor Janev},
      title = {The Possibilities for Termination of the Kumanovo Agreement (1999)},
      journal = {Journal of Political Science and International Relations},
      volume = {5},
      number = {2},
      pages = {58-68},
      doi = {10.11648/j.jpsir.20220502.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jpsir.20220502.14},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jpsir.20220502.14},
      abstract = {This article examines the Kumanovo Agreement (1999) as a limitation to Serbian military presence in Kosovo and Metohija (hereinafter shortly: Kosovo) in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999). Namely, the Military Technical Agreement between the International Security Force (“KFOR”) and the Governments of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Serbia, known as the “Kumanovo Agreement”, represents a legal limitation to any involvement of the Serbian military force(s) Kosovo. Nowadays, this act prevent any such involvement even in the case of uncontrolled Albanian invasion against the Serb population in Kosovo. With respect to the Kumanovo Agreement signed in 1999 the consent element (by Serbian party to a treaty) required for such peacekeeping agreements appears to be missing. The absence of consent element of the agreement undermines the legal basis and validity of the Kumanovo treaty reached under apparent coercion in 1999. It appears that Kumanovo Agreement in the absence of proper consent requirement may be interpreted as a dubious act under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (hereinafter VCLT), particularly Article 52 (related to the Coercion of a State by the threat or use of force). Therefore, the Kumanovo Agreement, as an Annex to the Security resolution 1244 (1999), can be considered as an invalid act according to the VLCT. As a consequence of its invalidity, the Serbian government in warlike situations, in case of massive human rights violations by Kosovo authorities against Serbian population, may resort to termination of the Kumanovo Agreement.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

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    AB  - This article examines the Kumanovo Agreement (1999) as a limitation to Serbian military presence in Kosovo and Metohija (hereinafter shortly: Kosovo) in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999). Namely, the Military Technical Agreement between the International Security Force (“KFOR”) and the Governments of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Serbia, known as the “Kumanovo Agreement”, represents a legal limitation to any involvement of the Serbian military force(s) Kosovo. Nowadays, this act prevent any such involvement even in the case of uncontrolled Albanian invasion against the Serb population in Kosovo. With respect to the Kumanovo Agreement signed in 1999 the consent element (by Serbian party to a treaty) required for such peacekeeping agreements appears to be missing. The absence of consent element of the agreement undermines the legal basis and validity of the Kumanovo treaty reached under apparent coercion in 1999. It appears that Kumanovo Agreement in the absence of proper consent requirement may be interpreted as a dubious act under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (hereinafter VCLT), particularly Article 52 (related to the Coercion of a State by the threat or use of force). Therefore, the Kumanovo Agreement, as an Annex to the Security resolution 1244 (1999), can be considered as an invalid act according to the VLCT. As a consequence of its invalidity, the Serbian government in warlike situations, in case of massive human rights violations by Kosovo authorities against Serbian population, may resort to termination of the Kumanovo Agreement.
    VL  - 5
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Author Information
  • Institute for Political Studies, Belgrade University, Belgrade, Serbia

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