Oral Agreements as Legally Binding as Written Contracts, Says Law Professor

Photo: Printscreen Youtube/Euronews (Illustration)

Speaking for the latest edition of the NIN weekly, Vladimir Medovic, a professor of law at the Novi Sad University School of Law, stated the fact that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti did not sign the Agreement on the path to normalization between Kosovo and Serbia or its Implementation Annex “does not diminish [these documents’] legal force.” 

“According to the rules of international law, oral international agreements have the same legal effect as those made in writing. All that matters is that both parties concur on the content of the [agreement] – and that concurrence was unequivocally confirmed in a statement by the mediator, EU High Representative [Josep] Borell. Therefore, a contract has been made and has effect,” Medovic explained. 

The professor further stated that the adoption of the Implementation Annex “only completed the European agreement whose content President Aleksandar Vucic and Prime Minister Albin Kurti determined in Brussels on February 27.” “Make no mistake,” he added, “paragraph two of the Annex clearly stipulates that Kosovo and Serbia are obligated to abide by all the articles of the Agreement and Annex and will expediently and in good faith perform all their duties stemming from the Agreement and Annex.”