Sljuka: Caretaker Government’s decisions not included in the annual plan can be challenged

Aleksandar Sljuka, associate of the NGO “New Social Initiative,” told Kosovo Online that all decisions of Kosovo’s caretaker government that had not previously been defined in the Government’s annual plan or annual budget are considered illegitimate and could be challenged before the courts.

Whether they will indeed be challenged, he said, depends on the relevant actors or on the courts themselves, which may initiate proceedings ex officio.

“Certain lawsuits may be filed if it is believed that the courts will not act independently. I think these decisions can be contested, and it is up to the courts to assess which ones will be overturned and which will not. As for why there have not been more complaints so far—that is a question for political actors,” Sljuka said.

He recalled that in the case of the administrative instruction on fiscal cash registers adopted by Finance Minister Hekuran Murati while serving in a caretaker capacity, the Supreme Court of Kosovo ruled that he could not hold two functions simultaneously, as he had been elected a Member of Parliament on 9 February, and therefore decisions he made in his capacity as minister were null and void.

“Experts, however, noted that this decision—relating to situations in which MPs simultaneously serve as ministers—does not automatically apply to every subsequent case, and that each new situation and decision must be challenged separately before the courts,” Sljuka explained.