Foreign Policy and International Law

Introduction

After years of controversy, a small group of countries, including the United States and European Union member states, announced in December 2010 that they had finalized a new "Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement"[1] ("ACTA"). With the negotiations complete, attention has turned to a question that may at first appear obscure, but is in fact of enormous importance: Can the U.S. President make the agreement on his own, without Congressional approval?

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I. Introduction

Is the unilateral declaration of independence by the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government of Kosovo in accordance with international law? The International Court of Justice (ICJ or Court) answered this question in the affirmative in a groundbreaking decision issued on July 22, 2010. The Court held that the declaration was not prohibited by general international law nor by any specific sources of international law.

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