ICJ Judge Cançado Trindade stated: What has happened in Kosovo is that the victimized people have sought independence, in reaction against systematic and long-lasting terror and oppression, perpetrated in flagrant breach of the fundamental principle of equality & non-discrimination

This quote is from Judge Antônio Augusto Cançado Trindade’s Separate Opinion (Paragraph 189) in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Advisory Opinion on Kosovo’s declaration of independence, delivered on July 22, 2010.

In this passage, Cançado Trindade outlines his human-centric approach to international law. He argues that state sovereignty is not absolute and cannot be used as a shield to abuse citizens. When a state inflicts severe, systematic terror and discrimination upon a specific group—such as the Kosovo Albanians during the 1990s—it loses its legitimacy.

Consequently, the victimized population gains the right to pursue independence (remedial secession) as a necessary defense to guarantee their fundamental human rights and survival.