The legal aspects of the European Union rule of law Mission in Kosovo

‘Sui generis’ is one of the most used expressions in the diplomatic circles worldwide in an attempt to explain the unique developments in the Kosovo case. It also serves to emphasise the fact that the unilateral declaration of independence from the democratically elected leaders of Kosovo cannot and will not serve as a precedent for the settlement of any other crises in the world. However if we take a brief look at Kosovo’s recent history it shows that the Kosovo case has been nothing short of this term. In 1999 it caused the first NATO led military action since World War II. After that the United Nations deployed its largest and longest peacekeeping mission known as UNMIK. Due to the disagreements among the permanent members of the UN SC for the withdrawal of UNMIK mission and the establishing of a new European rule of law mission under the name EULEX, again Kosovo faces a ‘sui generis’ situation. Three years after the independence declaration UNMIK is present a bit more than needed and EULEX is a little less present than it is needed...