UN General Assembly to Ask ICJ for Ruling on Kosovo Independence

The U.N. General Assembly has voted to ask the International Court of Justice to give an advisory opinion on whether Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia earlier this year conforms to international law.

联合国大会投票表决要求国际法庭对科索沃今年年初宣布从塞尔维亚独立是否符合国际法提出参考性意见。
The vote in the General Assembly was 77 in favor, 74 abstentions and six against.
联大就这一提案的表决结果是77票赞成，74票弃权，6票反对。
Many of the countries abstaining or voting against the resolution referring the matter to the court said they were doing so because they felt Serbia was putting an essentially political issue before a judicial body.
对把这一问题提交国际法庭投弃权票或者反对票的许多国家表示，他们这样做是因为他们觉得塞尔维亚把一个基本上属于政治方面的问题交给了一个法律机构。
Located at The Hague, the International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations.
设在海牙的国际法庭是联合国的主要法律机构。
The United States was one of the six countries that voted against the resolution. Representative Rosemary DiCarlo said asking the court for an advisory opinion on this question would be both "unnecessary and unhelpful" and said the United States is confident that recognition of Kosovo's independence by an increasing number of countries is consistent with international law.
美国等六个国家投了反对票。众议员迪卡罗表示，要求国际法庭就科索沃独立是否符合国际法提出参考性意见既“没有必要也无助于事”。美国相信，越来越多的国家承认科索沃独立是符合国际法的。
"As a practical matter, Kosovo's independence is an irreversible matter. Forty-eight countries have recognized Kosovo as an independent state, including 22 of the 27 members of the European Union," she said.
迪卡罗说：“从实际出发，科索沃独立是个不可逆转的事实。世界上已经有48个国家承认科索沃独立，包括欧盟27个成员国中的22个国家。”
But South Africa, which voted in favor of the resolution, said recognition is not the end of the story.
不过南非表示，承认科索沃独立不是事情的最终结果，南非对这项议案投了赞成票。南非常驻联合国代表库马洛说。
"While it may be true that 48 countries have recognized Kosovo, it is also important to note that 144 countries of this assembly have not taken that decision," said Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo.
库马洛说：“48个国家已经承认科索沃独立这也许不假，但是需要特别指出的是，联合国大会中还有144个国家尚未做出那样的决定，这点非常重要。”
Britain abstained from the vote, and afterwards, Ambassador John Sawers said that while his government strongly supports the court, it questioned the purpose of seeking a non-binding opinion on this matter.
英国投了弃权票。投票之后，英国常驻联合国代表索尔斯表示，尽管英国政府坚决支持国际法庭，但是英国对在这个问题上寻求一项没有约束力的意见究竟是什么目的提出质疑。
"We question the utility of the question that has been proposed by Serbia. An advisory opinion cannot in itself be determinative of Kosovo's status," he said.
索尔斯说：“我们对塞尔维亚提出这一要求的用意提出疑问。一项参考性的意见实质上并不能决定科索沃的地位问题。”
Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic introduced the resolution to the Assembly and said voting against it would mean that nothing could be done when secessionists anywhere asserted the uniqueness of their cause.
塞尔维亚外交部长耶雷米奇向联合国大会提出这项议案，并表示对这项议案投反对票意味着任何地方的分离主义人士只要利用他们的独特理由，我们就毫无办法。
Last week, Kosovo's Foreign Minister, Skender Hyseni, told reporters at the United Nations that adoption of this resolution could harm future relations between Kosovo and Serbia, and could slow recognition of his country by some other capitals.
上星期，科索沃外长希塞尼在联合国对记者说，通过这项决议会伤害科索沃跟塞尔维亚未来的关系，还有可能推迟其它国家政府对科索沃的承认。
Analysts say a ruling from the International Court of Justice on this issue could take between one and two years. Some diplomats expressed concern that such a delay is not in the interest of stabilizing the southern Balkans.
分析人士认为，国际法庭对这项议案做出裁决可能需要一年到两年时间。一些外交人士表示担心，拖延这么长时间不利于巴尔干南部地区的稳定。