Kosovo Judicial Council rejects request to reinstate Serbian judges who resigned; Haxhiu: I welcome this decision

The Kosovo Judicial Council (KJC) rejected the request by Serbian judges and court staff to withdraw their resignations and return to the judicial system. Acting President of Kosovo Albulena Haxhiu welcomed the decision and announced that she would immediately take steps to dismiss them.

At today's KJC meeting, the request for the return of the Serbian judges and court staff was rejected by a vote of nine in favor, one against and one abstention.

KJC President Rrustem Thaci abstained, while Ivana Milenkovic, a member of the judicial body, voted against.

Acting President of Kosovo Albulena Haxhiu supported the Judicial Council's proposal to dismiss the Serbian judges who resigned in 2022.

She announced this today on Facebook, stating that once the Judicial Council submits the proposal, she will take steps to dismiss them.

A Council session with this item on the agenda was not held on two occasions, on July 24 and August 7, because there was no quorum.

In a letter sent on June 19 to Judicial Council President Rrustem Thaci, Haxhiu requested that the body finally resolve the issue of the resignations submitted in 2022 by judges and support staff from the Serbian community within Kosovo's judicial system.

At a session held on July 20, the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council rejected the withdrawal of resignations submitted by five Serbian prosecutors and 15 members of support staff in the prosecutorial system. The following day, Haxhiu signed decrees dismissing seven Serbian prosecutors who had resigned in 2022.