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19 Int'l Peacekeeping 3 (2012)

handle is hein.journals/intlpkpg19 and id is 1 raw text is: Local Impact of 'UN Accountability' Under International Law: The Rise and Fall of UNMIK's Human Rights Advisory Panel ALEKSANDAR MOMIROV The internationalized exercise of public power in Kosovo's peculiar legal order is charac- terized by the interplay between local and international legal norms, traditional concepts of immunity and the lack of a coherent legal framework. Within this setting the overall accountability framework that usually applies to UN missions proves insufficient. This article reflects on the Human Rights Advisory Panel - a sui generis body established with the aim to improve the accountability record of the UN mission in Kosovo - as well as on the strained relationship between this oversight body and the UN mission, which culminated in the ultimate demise of the panel. The article argues that the account- ability of missions engaged in international territorial administration cannot be guaranteed through ad hoc mechanisms. Rather, accountability should be regulated in advance, through 'fit-for-purpose' mechanisms and by institutions independent of the administering missions. Kosovo under UNMIK: A Peculiar Legal Order Since 1999, the territory of Kosovo has been placed under international adminis- tration pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999) (hereinafter 'the Resolution').1 While the local effect of this resolution has changed since Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence in February 2008, the Resolution remains in place and - at least nominally - continues to be the overarching legal frame- work within which legal issues in Kosovo should be considered.2 The UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) is generally characterized as an extensive peacekeeping mission, in accordance with a widely accepted classification of first-, second- and third-generation peacekeeping missions.3 However, although UNMIK is a peace-related UN mission, its mandate reaches far beyond guaranteeing the absence of armed conflict. Based on Chapter VII of the UN Charter, UNMIK was entrusted with an inclusive and ultimate mandate to administer Kosovo. The inclusive nature of the mandate flows from the fact that the head of the UN mission, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG), is empowered to exercise legislative and executive authority, while at the same time being responsible for the administration of justice.4 In other words, in addition to maintaining peace, missions such as UNMIK 'set and enforce the law, establish customs services and regulations, set and collect business and personal taxes, attract foreign investment, adjudicate property disputes and liabilities for war damage, reconstruct and operate all public utilities, create a International Peacekeeping, Vol.19, No.1, February 2012, pp.3-18 ISSN 1353-3312 print/1743-906X online http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13533312.2012.642139 © 2012 Taylor & Francis

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