The Reference Re Secession of Quebec, the Kosovo Advisory Opinion and the Questions They Leave Open: The Right to Decide, the Principle of Stability, and the Duty to Negotiate

Abstract

The Reference of the Supreme Court of Canada Re Secession of Quebec was the first time a tribunal directly addressed unilateral secession. Many international lawyers intervened in the proceedings, helping the Canadian Supreme Court to craft a very clear judgement on this issue. Since 1998, the Reference Re Secession of Quebec has become a classic of international legal literature. Few domestic decisions are quoted so often by international lawyers, and, in fact, the 1998 Canadian Reference played a major role in the written briefs submitted by the states that intervened in the proceedings of the 2010 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on Kosovo. However, unlike to the Supreme Court of Canada, the ICJ decided not to touch the most significant issues regarding unilateral secession and international law. The last section of the chapter reflects on the legacy of these two important decisions in the light of the many contemporary requests for unilateral secession, including on grounds not foreseen either in Ottawa or at The Hague, such as the so-called right to decide , the principle of stability, and the duty to negotiate between opposing factions.