PREVIEW-UN court to hear Serbian challenge to Kosovo

* World Court to advise on legality of Kosovo's independence

* Serbia sought court's opinion to calm tension

* Hearings start Dec. 1, advisory opinion in several months



By Aaron Gray-Block and Fatos Bytyci

AMSTERDAM/PRISTINA, Nov 29 (Reuters) - A U.N. court will hear Serbia's challenge to the legality of Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence this week in hearings that will determine how smoothly Kosovo can win international recognition.

Serbia rejected Kosovo's declaration of independence in February 2008 and asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague to give an advisory opinion on the declaration's legality.

A ruling in Kosovo's favour would lead more countries to recognise its independence, while an adverse opinion would push it into negotiating a new settlement with Serbia, said Andre de Hoogh, senior lecturer in international law at Groningen University.

Kosovo sought formal independence from Serbia nine years after a NATO bombing campaign drove out Serb forces to stop the killing of ethnic Albanians in a 1998-99 counter-insurgency campaign.

Most Western nations have recognised Kosovo's independence, but neither Serbia, its former ruler, nor Russia has done so.

In its August 2008 request to the U.N. Security Council, Serbia said an advisory opinion from the ICJ would "go a long way towards calming tensions", avoiding further negative developments in the region and "facilitating reconciliation".

The Balkan state added that U.N. member states would benefit from the legal guidance, which would "enable them to make a more thorough judgment on the issue."



RULING IS MONTHS AWAY

Kosovo's independence has been recognised by 63 countries, 22 of which are European Union member states, but it will need many more before it can become a full U.N. member state.

"An advisory ruling in Kosovo's favour -- that would change the political dynamic," and accelerate the pace of international recognition, De Hoogh said.

he said a ruling against Kosovo could complicate matters, not only for western countries that have recognised its independence, but also for Kosovo itself which might then have to negotiate a settlement with Serbia.

About 120,000 Serbs still live in Kosovo, more than 5 percent of the population, and a controversial solution previously suggested was to partition the country, allowing the Serb-populated north to become part of Serbia and granting independence to the mainly ethnic Albanian south.

"Partition is not a solution and it might create more disorder," said Ilir Deda, executive director of the Kosovo think tank KIPRED.

Kosovo, cherished by Serbia as the cradle of its Orthodox Christianity, has been under U.N. administration since 1999 and about 12,600 NATO troops still oversee a fragile peace.

Nine days of hearings are scheduled before the 15-judge ICJ panel, starting on Tuesday, and 30 countries are due to make oral statements, including the United States, Russia, China and Serbia. Kosovo will also make a statement on the first day.

Kosovo and 36 member states have already filed written submissions, which are confidential but may be made public on Tuesday.

Unlike judgments handed down in cases involving disputes between states, advisory opinions are not binding, but carry the authority of the court as the U.N.'s principal judicial organ. An opinion is expected in a few months. (Editing by Tim Pearce) ((aaron.gray-block@thomsonreuters.com; +31 20 504 5001; Reuters Messaging: aaron.gray-block.reuters.com@reuters.net))