Concept of Rights and Security of Nagorno-Karabakh People in Light of ICJ’s Advisory Opinion on Kosovo

Abstract

This article is dedicated to the comparative analysis of the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on Kosovo, thereby revealing the criteria of the legality of realization of the right of peoples to self-determination and clarifying the question of their applicability to the Artsakh case. Historical and comparative methods of scientific research were used in the article, by means of which positive and negative aspects of the advisory opinion of the UN Court were highlighted. The analysis has shown that perhaps for the first time, an attempt was made by the International Court of Justice to define the criteria of the legality of the act of declaration of independence by a national community seeking self-determination, which aims to remove the right of peoples to self-determination from the sphere of political speculation and place it in the realm of legal certainty. The analysis also showed that the standards developed by the UN Court are fully applicable to Artsakh as well. The article also made an important record that even in the seemingly non-pro-Armenian stance of the ongoing negotiation process, new negotiation approaches being formed by Armenia are within the context of the legal logic of the UN court and thus have the potential to achieve legal confirmation of the independence of the people of Artsakh, if appropriate diplomatic and military-political work is carried out.