The judges voted 10-4 to pass the nonbinding opinion, setting the stage for Kosovo to renew its appeals for further international recognition.

The opinion, read by International Court of Justice President Hisashi Owada, says international law contains no "prohibition on declarations of independence" and therefore Kosovo's declaration "did not violate general international law."

Kosovo sparked sharp debate worldwide when it seceded from Serbia in 2008, following a bloody 1998-99 war with Serbia and nearly a decade of international administration.

Kosovo's statehood has been recognized by 69 countries, including the United States and most European Union nations. Serbia and Russia lead others in staunchly condemning it.

The foreign ministers of Serbia and Kosovo did not immediately comment on the judgment, which was announced in the middle of the lengthy judgment. The ministers continued listening from the wood-paneled Great Hall of Justice in The Hague.

Serbia's ultranationalist Radical Party said the court "gravely violated" international law, and called on the government to demand an urgent session of the U.N. Security Council to end the EU peacekeeping mission in Kosovo.

NATO-led troops increased their presence in the Serb-controlled part of Mitrovica, a divided town in northern Kosovo.