Trendafilova: No one can put pressure on the Court; demonstrations showed why proceedings are held outside Kosovo

The last time she was in Pristina, Ekaterina Trendafilova was met by former KLA members, which led to her scheduled address being canceled for security reasons, based on a recommendation by the Kosovo Police. However, the President of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague stated in an interview for Kosovo Online that she will certainly return to Kosovo, and that the demonstrations in question clearly showed why Pristina and Brussels agreed that proceedings should be conducted outside Kosovo.

By: Veljko Nestorovic

Trendafilova also emphasized that no one can exert pressure on the Court. As for the letters that former KLA members sent to Richard Grenell and the EU Commissioner demanding the Court's dissolution, she said:

"I have no comment on the correspondence of the KLA War Veterans. The Specialist Chambers is fully focused on implementing its mandate of ensuring fair, impartial, and secure trials, independently of any political commentary or development," she said.

How do you view the situation in Pristina and the cancellation of your scheduled address after the KLA veterans' protest? Do you feel safe in Kosovo after all that?

I know that people have questions about the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and what’s happening in The Hague, which is why I came to Kosovo, to inform everyone transparently about our activities. I find it extremely important that the people in Kosovo receive accurate information about the court and its activities and that they can ask any questions they may have. Therefore, my primary concern when I travel to Kosovo is to make myself available to meet with civil society, and were possible also with the media, to listen to them and to answer their questions. I very much regret that this was not possible this time. The media is a very important link between institutions and people. It plays a central role in ensuring that everyone receives objective and accurate information about our mandate and operations. The KSC remains committed to informing the people in Kosovo about our work, and this is a main purpose of my visits to Kosovo.

You intended to address the media during your visit to Kosovo – what message did you want to convey?

There was not a specific or central message to be conveyed. One aspect certainly is the importance to ensure safe and secure trials which is one of the central elements of our mandate as provided for by the Law on Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office, or simply the Law. The demonstration organised by the KLA War Veterans has shown how difficult it would be to ensure the safe and secure, smooth and undisturbed conduct of judicial proceedings if held in Kosovo. It is also extremely important to know the high priority that the court puts on protecting witnesses and victims. If people are afraid to tell their story in court, or if they are pressured to change their testimony, this makes it harder for the judges to reach the truth.

The court has taken very seriously its mandate to protect witnesses and victims. This is why the court applies measures, including taken in court to protect the safety and security of witnesses and victims. Further, by virtue of the Law the court can hold accountable those who would seek to intimidate or influence a witness. And there are indeed such cases before the KSC. For these reasons, Kosovo and the EU agreed to hold trials outside of Kosovo, and these recent events demonstrate that the agreement was practical and wise. Recognising the important role of the media and with all due respect to journalists, I was willing to meet them, to listen to them and answer any questions that they address to me and thus, to fulfil the courts duty to make the judicial proceedings as transparent for the people in Kosovo as matters permit. Indeed, legal matters can be very complex. For that reason, it is vital to communicate with representatives of the media so that they are able to pass on accurate information to the people in Kosovo. For example, I have seen frequent articles in the Kosovo media recently about the rights of the accused and whether they are protected before the KSC.

"The Specialist Chambers have nothing to hide"

Here I want to be very clear. The Law and the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the Specialist Chambers have been drafted to ensure the highest criminal justice standards reflected in international human rights instruments including the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The judges apply these standards in the courtroom and when a defendant disagrees with a decision by a panel of judges, the Law provides special mechanisms to ensure that human rights are protected before the court. Defendants can appeal decisions of the Pre-Trial Judge, the Single Judge and the Basic Court to a completely separate and independent panel of judges to review their complaint. This could be an Appeals Chamber Panel and a Supreme Court Panel. In addition, the accused and victims may make referrals to the Specialist Chamber of the Constitutional Court in relation to any alleged violation of their individual rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Kosovo Constitution. The KSC has developed a wealth of outreach activities for the purpose to regularly keeping people in Kosovo updated about cases before the court. The KSC is ready to engage with journalists knowing how important their objective and accurate message to people could be. There is nothing to hide and we have never avoided meeting the media unless prevented to do so.

Have the trials entered their final phase, and do you view the events during your visit to Kosovo as some form of pressure on the Court?

I think it is too early to say that proceedings before the Specialist Chambers have reached the final phase, but it would certainly be fair to state that an important milestone has been reached with the Prosecution having closed its case in the Thaci et al Case in April 2025. We will now have to see how the defences’ request for dismissal of charges will unfold. Concerning your question about pressure, it should be emphasised that it is impossible for anyone to put pressure on the court. As a court of law, the Specialist Chambers acts independently and impartially based on the law. The judges sign an oath to remain independent in carrying out their judicial functions, and they are accountable to exercise their duties independently, impartially and conscientiously and with integrity by a Code of judicial ethics which includes complaints and disciplinary mechanisms for judges if in breach of these universal principles in the judicial profession. All KSC panels are fully focused on the cases and their duty to make decisions based on the evidence put before them and the law, and to deliver justice independently, impartially, and fairly. 

The Kosovo Ombudsman also publicly criticized you. What is your view on this, as well as on the allegations regarding the disputed evidence he claims was supplied by Serbia?

I appreciate that the Kosovo Ombudsperson shared his views with me during our courtesy meeting. I say a courtesy meeting because, as you know, the Kosovo Constitution provides that the operation of the KSC and SPO are subject to the scrutiny of a separate and independent Ombudsperson with exclusive responsibility for these institutions. So, to be clear, Mr. Qelaj has no competence with respect to the Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office. As Mr. Qelaj had asked for this meeting, and out of respect for the office of the Ombudsperson, I met him in order to hear his questions to provide answers to any specific issue he would raise. Mr Qelaj was aware that he has no mandate with respect to the Specialist Chambers and that also the Kosovo Law on the Ombudsperson provides that the Ombudsperson may not interfere in judicial proceedings. Nevertheless, Mr. Qelaj raised concerns in general terms about fairness of the proceedings, evidence, detention matters. I engaged with every single one of these generally put issues and explained to Mr Qelaj how the Specialist Chambers functions, based on the Constitution and the Law. In regard of evidence, I made reference to the very clear legal framework on evidence, and how judges deal with evidence. The Rules of Procedure and Evidence provide that the Trial Panel shall admit evidence only if it is relevant, authentic, and if its probative value is not outweighed by its prejudicial effect. Evidence declared inadmissible shall not be considered by the Panel. Further, the Panel shall assess each piece of admitted evidence separately and also in light of the entire body of evidence admitted before it in trial. The Panel shall carry out a holistic evaluation and weighing of all evidence to establish whether or not the facts at issue have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. In determining the weight to be given to the testimony of a witness or a document, the Panel shall assess the credibility of the witness and the reliability of their testimony, as well as the authenticity and reliability of documents. In regard to the generally raised concerns about the conditions at the detention centre, I clarified that the conditions are being independently monitored by the International Committee of the Red Cross as well as by the Ombudsperson of the Specialist Chambers and that there have not been any findings of any violations so far. I also explained in detail how the Law on Specialist Chambers ensures that the rights of the accused are respected including a functioning appeals mechanism through which an accused who disagrees with the decision of the judges can request that the decision to be reviewed consecutively by different panels, of Specialist Chambers judges – a system applicable in all rule of law democratic societies. The Ombudsperson complained about the structure of the KSC and certain Chambers within it and also about the independence of the Ombudsperson of the KSC. It has been emphasised that this structure has been regulated by the Constitution in Article 162 as well as the Law on the Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office. The Kosovo Constitutional Court declared back in April 2015 that this structure is in compliance with the Constitution.

Despite all this, will you visit Kosovo again?

I will certainly visit Kosovo again, and the court will continue to provide people in Kosovo with important information about the Specialist Chambers activities.