Miftaraj: Law on Specialist Chambers has shortcomings, president should return it to the Assembly

Ehat Miftaraj of the Kosovo Law Institute said that the Law on Specialist Chambers, following the adoption of amendments, has problems that need to be addressed, and that President Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu would be acting correctly if she returned it to the Kosovo Assembly for reconsideration.

The Kosovo Assembly adopted amendments to the Law on Specialist Chambers at second reading on 6 October, but Osmani-Sadriu has not yet signed them.

“It is evident that the Law on Specialist Chambers has problems that need to be addressed. The president would make the right decision by returning the law to the Assembly. In the meantime, the government should immediately contact the European Union to begin consultations on this law,” Miftaraj wrote on Facebook.

The amendments to the Law on Specialist Chambers, adopted at the initiative of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, envisage several substantive changes to the functioning and jurisdiction of the Specialist Chambers. Among the most significant changes are the revision of the court's jurisdictional timeframe to cover the period from 1 July 1999 to 31 December 2000, and a maximum prison sentence of 15 years.

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

Following the adoption of the amendments, the EU issued a statement saying that they were contrary to Kosovo's international obligations towards the EU and called on Pristina to honour its international commitments to ensure the independence of the institution.

Meanwhile, Clirim Haziri, one of the organisers of the days-long protests in Pristina and leader of the “Not in My Name” initiative, called on the Kosovo president to carefully review the amendments to the Law on Specialist Chambers and return the legislation to parliament for reconsideration if any provisions were found to be unconstitutional or to present any legal problems.