Representatives of civil society, the academic community and human rights organizations have asked Ombudsperson Naim Qelaj to refer the Law on the Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office to the Constitutional Court.
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According to the request, the Constitutional Court should examine whether the mandate of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague has been expanded beyond the authorization provided for in Article 162 of the Constitution of Kosovo.
Article 162, paragraph 1, of the Constitution, the request states, enables the establishment of the Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office so that the Republic of Kosovo can fulfill its international obligations relating to Report No. 12462 of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, dated January 7, 2011, prepared by rapporteur Dick Marty.
The law, on the other hand, stipulates that the institutions were established to address proceedings concerning allegations of serious transnational and international crimes connected with the allegations in the report and investigated by the Special Investigative Task Force. According to the signatories, this shows that the Constitution did not authorize the creation of a general criminal jurisdiction without limitations.
“The Constitution enabled a specialized mechanism within Kosovo’s justice system, established for a specific constitutional purpose and linked to the allegations that led to its creation,” the request states.
The signatories assess that the summary of the judgment in the case against Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi has highlighted more clearly how these provisions have been interpreted and applied.
According to them, the summary extensively addresses the history, organization, leadership, and political and military structures of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), public statements, appointments, intelligence services, military police, operational zones, as well as the goals of Kosovo’s independence and the establishment of political and institutional control.
“The trial panel made it clear that the case did not concern the legitimacy of the KLA or its aim of an independent Kosovo. This clarification is important. Nevertheless, the breadth of the analysis raises the question of whether the connection to the specific allegations in the Report of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe served as a genuine and effective limit on the jurisdiction, or as a basis for exercising a much broader jurisdiction over the organization and activities of the KLA during and after the war,” the request states.
The request warns that if the wording “which are connected to the Report of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe” is understood broadly enough to include every alleged crime, individual, structure, policy or development with a general historical connection to the KLA, the limitation in Article 6 could lose its legal force.
The signatories, whose names are presented in alphabetical order:
1. Prof. Dr. Enver Hasani, former president of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Kosovo.
2. Abit Hoxha, assistant professor at the Institute for Nordic and Media Studies, University of Agder, Norway.
3. Agon Maliqi, civil society activist.
4. Dr. Armend Bekaj, researcher at the Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University, Sweden.
5. Dr. Artan Mustafa, University of Prishtina.
6. Bajram Geci, doctoral researcher.
7. Dr. Butrint Berisha, researcher.
8. Dr. Fisnik Korenica, associate professor of law at the University of Prishtina.
9. Fisnik Rexhepi, civil society activist.
10. Ideal Zhaveli, executive director of ACTIVISM ROOTS.
11. Ismet Kryeziu, executive director of the Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI).
12. Jeta Loshaj, civil society activist.
13. Laura Kryeziu, Leadership and Development Council (LGC).
14. Leonora Kryeziu, executive director of the Prishtina Institute for Political Studies (PIPS).
15. Dr. Liridon Lika, lecturer and researcher at the Center for International Relations Studies, Department of Political Science, University of Liège, Belgium.
16. Dr. Lulzim Peci, executive director of the Kosovar Institute for Policy Research and Development (KIPRED).
17. Naim Rashiti, director of the Balkan Policy Research Group (BPRG).
18. Dr. Nevenka Tromp, lecturer in European Studies at the University of Amsterdam.
19. Dr. Ramadan Ilazi, head of research at the Kosovo Centre for Security Studies (KCSS).
20. Dr. Robert Muharremi, assistant professor at RIT Kosovo.
21. Senad Sabovic, civil society activist.
22. Shenoll Muharremi, civil society activist.
23. Shpëtim Selmani, poet.
24. Visar Ymeri, executive director of the “Musine Kokalari” Institute for Social Policy.
