Pasic: Council of Europe approval needed to abolish the Specialist Chambers

Lawyer Dragan Pasic told Kosovo Online that the initiative by Albanian MPs in the Kosovo Assembly concerning the abolition of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor's Office will have no effect, because in addition to the requirement for a double two-thirds majority, the Council of Europe must also approve such a “radical change”.

“The condition for even considering a change to the law that would also entail the abolition of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor's Office is a double two-thirds majority, which means 80 Albanian MPs and 14 MPs representing other communities, Serbs, Roma, Turks, Ashkali and Gorani,” Pasic explained.

Pasic explains that even if the law were to be passed by parliament, this would not be sufficient to abolish these institutions, because they were established through an international agreement between the European Union and the authorities in Pristina, meaning that the EU, that is, the Council of Europe, would have to approve such a change.

Speaking about the consequences of a decision to abolish the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, Pasic points out that this would send a message to the international community that Pristina does not respect or recognize institutions established and supported by all European countries, as well as the United States.

“This is primarily a message for domestic politics, while for the international community it raises concern and criticism. This is certainly the main obstacle to any European integration of so-called Kosovo, but this is a political matter, a narrative that has been heard for years. The claims by political leaders that this first-instance judgment has inflicted an unacceptable injustice on Albanians and the so-called KLA are unacceptable. Such statements do not lead to reconciliation between peoples, and the condition for reconciliation, for living together, is justice,” Pasic stressed.

Pasic points out that this is a first-instance judgment against the former KLA leaders and that an appeals process will follow, lasting between 12 and 18 months.

“Even if, theoretically, these specialist courts and prosecutors' offices were abolished at the present time or in the near future, the judgment would certainly remain in force. This means that no one can absolve the KLA leaders of criminal responsibility, and no one can claim that they are not responsible for the crimes precisely set out in the judgment, which concern war crimes,” Pasic said categorically.

According to him, the judgment precisely states that the crimes were committed against 385 people who were unlawfully deprived of their liberty, 303 people who were tortured, and 96 people who were killed by KLA units.

“That is why Hashim Thaci was found guilty as commander-in-chief, as were other members of the General Staff, Jakup Krasniqi, Rexhep Selimi and Kadri Veseli,” Pasic concluded.