Hasani: CSM is a legal obligation of the Government of Kosovo that was confirmed by the Assembly

Professor of international law from Pristina, Enver Hasani, in an interview with Koha, said that Kosovo would have a hard time avoiding responsibility for the formation of the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities and added that Kosovo's biggest mistake had been not coming up with its proposal to manage the entire process.

"The proposal of American officials is in accordance with the international obligation that Kosovo assumed when it ratified the 2013 agreement in the Assembly. They are only asking our country to implement that obligation, according to Kosovo's constitutional procedures. The executive power of the country has the obligation to do something like that. no one else," Hasani said.

He stated that the proposed plan based on the Franco-German proposal required a longer analysis, but that the giving of guarantees by the Americans that the formation of the CSM would not be a "Republika Srpska" was a good basis.

"What is clearly seen from the current drafts of the CSM, which were drawn up by international representatives, is that the construction of additional mechanisms for the protection of the local Serbs is foreseen. As part of these mechanisms, there is also a certain role of the Serbian state in Kosovo, which in itself is a problem, especially the lack of precise definition of the role of the Serbian state in Kosovo," Hasani pointed out.

He emphasized that, since the official draft of the proposal had not been published, it was difficult to say what was gained and what was lost, and that the current drafts, in the part that talked about the statutory powers of the CSM, had clearly exceeded its constitutional framework, defined by the decision of the Constitutional Court from 2015.

"That body also represents a special problem. There are other serious objections because the sub-legal normative act aims to standardize the constitutional powers of the central authorities. These objections regarding these constitutional excesses, however, cannot be corrected by running away from dialogue, but by entering it and clearly showing its (Kosovo) official position. The biggest mistake is that our side did not come up with its own proposal, in order to ensure local management of the entire process," Hasani believes.

He emphasized that no civil society organization and no other structure could assume responsibility for the implementation of the country's international obligations, except for those defined by the Constitution.

"As I said, this obligation had to be fulfilled exclusively by the executive power of the country, because the vote in the Assembly has been carried out and the international obligation can hardly be avoided. Any delay produces a worse position for the country," Hasani assessed.