EU welcomes return of amendments to Law on Specialist Chambers to parliament, expects to be consulted

The European Union has welcomed Kosovo President Justina Shiroka Pulja’s decision to return the amendments to the Law on the Specialist Chambers to the Kosovo Assembly for reconsideration, stressing that it expects to be consulted should the debate continue in parliament.

In a statement, the EU spokesperson recalled that the Union had consistently expressed deep concern over the initiative to amend the Law on the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, both before and after its adoption by the Kosovo Assembly on October 6.

“In the spirit of the 2014 Exchange of Letters between the EU High Representative and the President of Kosovo, which established modalities for consultation with the EU prior to amending the legislation, we expect the European Union to be consulted should the discussion continue in parliament. The rule of law and the protection of fundamental rights, including the rights of victims and witnesses, remain of paramount importance,” the statement said.

The statement noted that the Kosovo Specialist Chambers are an independent judicial institution established by decisions of the Kosovo Assembly in 2014 and 2015, on the basis of a specific agreement with the EU, operating within Kosovo’s legal system and whose existence is provided for under the Kosovo Constitution.

Their mandate and independence must be fully and unreservedly respected, Brussels stressed.

“The European Union expresses its solidarity with all victims, survivors and their families from all communities affected by crimes committed during the war,” the statement added.

Kosovo President Justina Shiroka Pulja decided yesterday to return the amended Law on the Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office to the Kosovo Assembly for reconsideration.

She accepted a proposal by the parliamentary group of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, which sponsored the law, to give the Assembly an opportunity to reconsider it, particularly the provisions concerning the jurisdiction and mandate of the Specialist Chambers, as well as the full protection of the constitutional rights of persons standing trial before the Chambers.

Immediately after the amendments were adopted, the European Union said that the changes to the Law on the Specialist Chambers passed by the Kosovo Assembly were contrary to Kosovo’s international obligations toward the EU and called on Pristina to respect its international commitments in order to safeguard the institution’s independence.

The adopted amendments, which will now be reconsidered, provide for changing the temporal scope of the court’s jurisdiction to the period from July 1, 1999, to December 31, 2000, as well as setting a maximum prison sentence of 15 years.

They also provide for the transfer of cases that would no longer fall within the jurisdiction of the Specialist Chambers to Kosovo institutions, as well as the possibility of appealing to the Kosovo Supreme Court on matters relating to jurisdiction. The amendments further provide that convicted persons may serve their prison sentences in Kosovo and that presidential pardons may be granted in certain cases.