Hasani: Self-Determination’s approach to interpreting the Constitution accelerates Serbian autonomy

Former President of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo, Enver Hasani, stated that the Constitutional Court’s decision regarding the process of electing the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly from the Serbian community confirms a brutal violation of constitutional provisions that protect the equality of communities and political representation.

In an interview with Gazeta Express, Hasani said that the decision taken by the Constitutional Court is a reminder to the Self-Determination Movement that a majority in a democracy cannot be used as tyranny against anyone—least of all against minority communities.

According to him, the Serbian community in Kosovo is represented by the party that holds the majority of seats in the Assembly, not by Nenad Rasic.

The former President of the Constitutional Court also said that “the state of Kosovo is strengthened only through strict respect for the Constitution, the Ahtisaari Plan, and the obligations arising from the protection of minorities in the country.”

In his view, through this logic of power, the implementation of Serbian autonomy in Kosovo will only be accelerated, and international intervention will follow, with proposals that, as he says, affect even the “foundations of independence of 17 February.”

Hasani assessed that yesterday’s decision of the Constitutional Court represents a brutal and unforgivable violation of constitutional provisions that safeguard the equality of all communities in their political representation, and recalled that the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly of Kosovo, adopted in 2022 by Self-Determination, fully incorporate constitutional provisions and must be implemented.

The Constitutional Court, Hasani emphasized, has previously made it clear that its jurisdiction includes constitutional review of the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure, as this is the only sub-legal act that is defined and framed by the Constitution.

According to him, the Constitutional Court reminded the party that won the elections that a majority in a democracy cannot constitute tyranny over anyone, especially not over minority communities.

“There was no such tyranny in 2021, when the Self-Determination Movement voted for the Deputy Speaker from the Serbian minority community. This practice from 2021 must continue, because, as the Court stated, this is required by paragraph 7 of Article 58 of the Constitution, which reads: ‘The Republic of Kosovo shall ensure, on a non-discriminatory basis, that all communities and their members are able to exercise their rights provided for in this Constitution.’ Rasic, as I have said many times, does not represent the Serbian community; it is represented by those who have more seats in the Assembly of Kosovo,” Hasani said.

Asked whether this could lead to a new parliamentary blockade when steps begin to constitute the Assembly after the confirmation of election results, Hasani said he could only speculate.

“What I can say is that the state of Kosovo will be strengthened and integrated into the Euro-Atlantic family only through strict implementation of the Constitution of Kosovo and the international obligations undertaken through the Ahtisaari Plan for the protection and guarantee of the constitutional rights of all communities. Ultimately, this obligation is also civilizational: protecting and guaranteeing the constitutional rights of all communities in Kosovo demonstrates the civilizational level of the Republic of Kosovo and its leaders,” the former President of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo said.

Commenting on the statement by the Speaker of the Assembly of Kosovo that the process of electing the Deputy Speaker from the Serbian minority falls under the authority of the session chair and that the Constitutional Court cannot interpret the Rules of Procedure, Hasani said that in Kosovo, MPs and their statements on systemic political issues are not free personal opinions, but positions of the party leader.

“This has always been known in other parties as well, and in this case it is even more pronounced. The manner in which Basha speaks, while still referring to himself as Speaker of the Assembly of Kosovo, signals that the ruling party will continue the practice of undermining the constitutional order, blackmail, and threats against judges and all those who do not believe that the Serbian minority should be expelled from the constitutional system. Such a logic of power—through policies that violate the Constitution, usurpation of public office, threats, and insults toward the country’s citizens—only accelerates the implementation of Serbian autonomy in Kosovo. If such policies continue, it is certain that the role and position of the international factor in Kosovo will increase, with proposals that encroach upon the very foundations of Kosovo’s statehood, proclaimed on 17 February 2008,” Hasani said.

In his opinion, the decision would have been the same even if the judges of the Constitutional Court had been like Dimali Basha or any of the “most ardent militants” of the party that won the elections.

“Had it been otherwise, the mission of the Constitutional Court would have been lost and its moral and professional authority undermined. One day we will be members of the Council of Europe and, accordingly, subject to the European Court of Human Rights, where decisions of the Constitutional Court—as the last instance of justice in Kosovo—will be assessed. Then the dramatic scale of discrimination against the citizens of Kosovo will be revealed in cases of discriminatory and arbitrary decisions by this court and other public institutions in Kosovo,” Hasani concluded.