Kosovo Project

Project Description

PILPG has provided pro bono legal assistance to the government of Kosovo throughout the peace process with Serbia and as it moves forward with final status negotiations and issues of state succession, constitution drafting, and the development of a constitutional commission.

Rambouillet Negotiations.  In 1999, three members of PILPG represented Kosovo at the Rambouillet Accords in Paris, as they attempted to peacefully resolve the conflict between Serbia and Kosovo.

Vienna Final Status Negotiations.  PILPG has counseled the government and political leadership of Kosovo during final status negotiations with Serbia and the United Nations, which began in early 2005.  In late 2006, PILPG drafted a State Succession Handbook to assist the government of Kosovo upon the resolution of the final status negotiations.

Post-Conflict Constitution.  In the summer of 2006, PILPG partnered with the OSCE Parliamentary and Expert Roundtable on Constitutional Issues for Kosovo, producing a Constitution Drafters Handbook which brought together comparative analyses of over 150 constitutions.  PILPG also drafted a Constitution Commission Handbook and Constitution Referendum Handbook to accompany the Constitution Drafters Handbook.

Advocacy.  PILPG actively participated in the Kosovo Action Committee, which coordinated NGO advocacy prior to and during the Serbian campaign in Kosovo.

Earned Sovereignty.  PILPG was instrumental in introducing the concept of “earned sovereignty” to the resolution of Kosovo’s final status.  “Earned sovereignty” establishes the progression from sharing sovereignty, building institutions, and determining final status, as a means to transitioning to independence.

• “Earned Sovereignty: Bridging the Gap between Sovereignty and Self-Determination,” Paul Williams and Francesca Jannotti Pecci, Stanford Journal of International Law (2004).

• “Resolving Sovereignty-Based Conflicts: The Emerging Approach of Earned Sovereignty,” Paul Williams, Michael Scharf, & James Hooper, Denver Journal of International Law & Policy (2004).

• “Earned Sovereignty: Juridical Underpinnings,” Michael Scharf, Denver Journal of International Law & Policy (2004).

• “Earned Sovereignty: The Road to Resolving the Conflict Over Kosovo’s Final Status," Paul Williams, Denver Journal of International Law & Policy (2004).

• “A Blueprint for Next Steps in Kosovo,” PILPG (2001).

• "Intermediate Sovereignty as a Solution to the Kosovo Crisis," International Crisis Group (1998).

Project Office

From 2005 to 2006, PILPG maintained an office in Prishtina, Kosovo to facilitate the provision of legal services related to final status negotiations and the development of a post-conflict constitution.  The office was headed by Jennifer Ober.

Policy Planning Roundtables

PILPG organized a conference in March 2004 of key NGO leaders and former senior USG officials on key Balkan issues, including Kosovo's prospects for final status, Montenegro's drive for independence, and Serbia's sputtering reform effort.  The conference examined overall prospects for violence, democratic reforms and border changes and produced the report, “Reversing the Decline in the Balkans: Recommendations for Western Policy, A Roundtable with The Century Foundation.”  The New York Times reported on PILPG’s findings of the report.

PILPG also co-organized a policy planning roundtable in May 2003 to devise a plan for achieving a final status settlement for Kosovo and produced the report, “Achieving a Final Status Settlement for Kosovo.” The Washington Times reported on PILPG’s findings in the article, “Report Ties Balkan Stability to Kosovo Status.”

Policy Planning Negotiation Simulations

To train parties in negotiating techniques and to assist in the development of an innovative diplomatic solution to the Kosovo conflict, PILPG has prepared a series of policy planning negotiation simulations.  The purpose of the simulations is to surface critical issues in the conflict and test new approaches to resolving the conflict. 

In order to promote capacity for government and political leadership of Kosovo, PILPG partnered with USIP to administer a series of negotiation simulations in Washington, DC and in Prishtina, Kosovo.  PILPG prepared and distributed the reports, “Kosovo Lessons Learned, March 2002” and “Kosovo Lessons Learned, December 2003” to the parties involved in the negotiations.  In late 2005, PILPG partnered with the OSCE to administer a negotiation simulation to prepare the parties for the Vienna Final Status Negotiations.

Congressional Testimony

• "An Overview of Balkans Policy Issues," James Hooper before the House International Relations Committee (2001).

• “U.S. Policy Opportunities in Southeast Europe,” James Hooper before the House International Relations Committee (2001) (Remarks, as delivered).

• “Winning the Peace in Kosovo: Time to Formulate a Strategy,” Paul Williams before the Sub-Committee on European Affairs of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (2000).

• “U.S. Choices in Kosovo,” James Hooper before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (1998).

• “Background to the Kosovo Crisis,” James Hooper before the Senate Armed Services Committee (1998).

Balkan Watch

The Post-Conflict Political Development Practice of the Public International Law and Policy Group also prepares Balkan Watch, a twice-monthly publication detailing and analyzing the various current events and conflicts in the Balkans region. 

Op-eds

• “Going Backward in the Balkans,” Ambassador Morton Abramowitz, The Washington Post (2004).

• “Where to Start with Europe,” Ambassador Morton Abramowitz & Heather Hurlburt, The Washington Post (2004).

• “West Shouldn't Lift Sanctions Just Yet,” R. Bruce Hitchner, The Dayton Daily News.

• “A Defining Moment,” R. Bruce Hitchner & Paul Williams, The Baltimore Sun (2004).

• “Making Sense of American Policy,” James Hooper, Kosova and Balkan Observer (2001).

• “Washington’s Long Knives,” James Hooper, The Washington Times (1999).

• “Indicted For War Crimes, Then What?,” Michael Scharf, The Washington Post (1999).

• “Can We Solve the Kosovo Problem,” James Hooper, The Dallas Morning News (1999).

• “Europe in Control,” James Hooper, The Washington Times (1999).

• “America Caves in Kosovo,” James Hooper, The Christian Science Monitor, (1998).

• “Kosovo Policy Disaster Deepens,” James Hooper, The Oregonian (1998).

• “The West Must Act to Avoid a Bosnia Redux,” Norman Cigar & Paul Williams, The Wall Street Journal Europe (1998).

• “Indict Serbia’s Milosevic for Crimes Against Humanity,” Michael Scharf & Paul Williams, International Herald Tribune (1998).
   

Field Reports

• “Kosovo: Time to Negotiate Final Status,” Field Report by Louis Sell (January 2003).

• “Unbreakable Bond: Serbs and Kosovo,” Field Report by Vladimir Matic (December 2003).

•  “Kosovo: The Road Ahead,” Field Report by Louis Sell (March 2002).

Policy Monographs

• “Achieving A Final Status Settlement for Kosovo," Paul Williams, Janusz Bugajski, & R. Bruce Hitchner, CSIS (2003)

• “A Blueprint for Next Steps in Kosovo,” PILPG (2001).

• “Intermediate Sovereignty as a Solution to the Kosovo Crisis,” International Crisis Group (1998).

• “Kosovo: From Crisis to Solution,” prepared in conjunction with the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1997). 
   

Scholarly Articles

• “Is it true that there is no right of self-determination for Kosova?,” Paul Williams & Jennifer Ober, in The Case for Kosova: Passage to Independence (2006).

• “Was the former 1999 NATO intervention an illegal war against the Former Republic of Yugoslavia?,” Paul Williams & Catherine Croft, in The Case for Kosova: Passage to Independence (2006).  

• “The Role of Justice in the Former Yugoslavia: Antidote or placebo for Coercive Appeasement,” Paul Williams & Patricia Taft, Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law (2003). 

• “Coercive Appeasement: The Flawed International Response to the Serbian Rogue Regime,” Paul Williams & Karina M. Waller, New England Law Review (2002). 

• “NATO Intervention on Trial: The Legal Case that Was Never Made,” Paul Williams & Michael Scharf, Human Rights Review (January 2000). 

• “The Norm of Justice and the Negotiation of the Rambouillet/Paris Peace Accords,” Paul Williams, Leiden Journal of International Law (January 2000). 

• “Kosovo’s Mark: Nationalism, Democracy, and Power in the Balkans,” James Hooper, Harvard International Review (2000).

• “Legal Basis for NATO Military Action Taken Against Serbia/Montenegro,” Paul Williams & Michael Scharf, International Peacekeeping (Winter 1999).

• “Why Kosovo Matters,” James Hooper, Current History (1999).

Books

• Peace with Justice: War Crimes and Accountability in the Former Yugoslavia, Paul Williams & Michael Scharf (Rowman & Littlefield 2002).

• Slobodan Milosevic on Trial: A Companion, Michael Scharf & William Schabas (Continuum Press, 2002).

• Indictment at the Hague: The Milosevic Regime and Crimes of the Balkan Wars, Paul Williams & Norman Cigar (New York University Press 2001).

• An Insider's Guide to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, Michael Scharf & Virginia Morris (Transnational Publishers, 1995).

Media Appearances

PILPG members have been interviewed over 250 times on the final status of Kosovo.  These interviews include CNN, PBS, Voice of America, National Public Radio, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Court TV, The Nation, and others.

Project Team

Ryan Vogel, Senior Research Associate
Julia Rieper, Senior Research Associate

Lauren Baillie, Research Associate
Nathan Borgford-Parnell, Research Associate
Craig Saperstein, Research Associate
Scott Simpson, Research Associate

Advisory Council

Sandra Canfield
Catherine Croft
Cynthia Ebbs
Hal Eren
Megan Hall
Jennifer Ober, Pristina Kosovo
Patricia Taft
John Terzano
Adam Wilczewski
Julie Wilson
Jolita Zabarauskaite Pemra Hazbay LeeAnn O'Neill