The Government of Kosovo has approved the draft law on the State Bureau for the Verification and Confiscation of Unjustifiable Assets. The initiative aims to establish the bureau, define its powers and regulate procedures for examining and confiscating unjustifiable assets.
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Justice Minister Donika Gërvalla announced at a press conference that the draft law will now be sent to the Assembly of Kosovo.
The move brings the draft law’s parliamentary path back into focus. It passed its first reading in the Assembly in April this year. Following the government’s approval, the initiative must again go through the prescribed institutional steps, while the question of whether the parties have the political will to complete the process remains open.
Belgium-based lawyer Skënder Musliu spoke to “Bota sot” about the situation. He said the legal procedures are clear, but the biggest obstacle may be the positions taken by parliamentary parties.
Musliu recalled that the vetting law and the law on the Bureau for the Confiscation of Unjustifiable Assets were among the justice reforms announced by the Vetëvendosje Movement.
“When LVV and Albin Kurti came to power, as promised during parliamentary election campaigns, the Ministry of Justice began preparing the legal framework for the announced justice reforms. Among the most important laws were the vetting law and the law on the Bureau for the Confiscation of Unjustifiable Assets.
“The aim of these two laws was to reform the justice system, including ‘screening’ judges and prosecutors to verify their professionalism, integrity, professional credibility and assets, as well as strengthening the fight against corruption and organized crime among public officials,” he said.
The lawyer linked the creation of the mechanism to the need to combat corruption and unjustifiable wealth. He claimed that some public officials had used their positions for illicit gain.
“For two decades, some of them, when the opposition was in power, had close ties to high-ranking politicians who were untouchable and went unpunished. According to him, cooperation in corruption and organized crime enabled these officials to abuse their positions and authority, becoming extraordinarily wealthy at citizens’ expense and to the detriment of the state.
“It was precisely to put an end to these abuses and large-scale theft that the Ministry of Justice prepared the law on the Bureau for the Confiscation of Unjustifiable Assets,” Musliu said.
He criticized the opposition, accusing it of delaying the law’s adoption. According to Musliu, the draft law has previously gone through procedures in the Assembly, the Constitutional Court and the Venice Commission, as well as public review.
“The Kurti government prepared this law and sent it to the Assembly for review and adoption on time, but it met resistance from PLAN. To block its adoption, according to him, the law was sent back several times to the Assembly, the Constitutional Court and the Venice Commission, and was also subjected to public review, causing deliberate obstacles and delays,” he said.
According to Musliu, the draft law entered a new stage of review after the Assembly was constituted and the government was formed.
“A few days ago, after the Assembly was constituted and the government was formed, the latter sent the law on the Bureau for the Confiscation of Unjustifiable Assets to the Assembly of Kosovo. The procedures for adopting it are clearly defined both by law and by the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure,” the lawyer said.
He explained that the Ministry of Justice, as the responsible institution, submits the draft law to the government for approval. Once approved by the executive, the document is sent to the Assembly, where it is first reviewed by the relevant committee and then sent to lawmakers for debate and a vote in a plenary session.
Because the draft law passed its first reading in April this year, Musliu does not expect procedural obstacles. He believes the main challenge will be political.
“The passage of the draft law on the Bureau for the Confiscation of Unjustifiable Assets at its first reading in April this year shows that there is no particular legal problem with its adoption. According to him, the only obstacle lies with the leaders of the opposition parties, who have behaved destructively and arrogantly since the beginning of Prime Minister Kurti’s term, opposing the laws most important to the state’s interests,” Musliu said.
He believes completing the process will depend on the parties’ willingness to support the initiative in the Assembly. Musliu claimed that the opposition has delayed both the vetting law and the bureau for the confiscation of unjustifiable assets for five years.
“Unfortunately, the adoption of this law and other initiatives depends on the grudges and primitive egos of the opposition leadership. This is demonstrated by the fact that the opposition has been postponing the adoption of the vetting law and the bureau for the confiscation of unjustifiable assets for five years,” he said.
Musliu believes the delays are intended to allow officials involved in corruption and organized crime to evade responsibility. In his view, justice reforms would usher in a new period of accountability and put an end to impunity.
He clarified, however, that the bureau would not have the authority to make the final decision on confiscating assets. Its role would be to investigate and verify unjustifiable assets, while the decision would rest with the competent court.
“This law provides for the establishment of a state mechanism to investigate and verify unjustifiable assets. The decision to confiscate them, based on the evidence, is made by the competent court, not by the bureau, as opposition propaganda has claimed,” the lawyer stressed.
In closing, Musliu said implementing the law would encourage public officials to be more careful and responsible in carrying out their duties. Their assets, he said, should be consistent with their lawful income, not the result of corruption.
