Kosovo

On 22 February 2022, the IRZ and the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kosovo, organised an online expert discussion on the theme of "specific judicial review".

Gresa Caka-Nimani, President of the Constitutional Court, Enver Peci, President of the Supreme Court and Frank Hupfeld, IRZ, opened the event, which included over 45 judges and academic staff of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court. In their opening speeches, the speakers emphasised the importance of the German-Kosovar exchange of expertise and experience in view of the comparatively recent case law history of the Kosovo Constitutional Court.

Radomir Laban, judge at the Kosovo Constitutional Court, first presented the legal framework and practice of the Constitutional Courts in managing a specific judicial review. On the basis on a detailed presentation of the seven judgments that have had legal effect to date, he discussed the case law of the Kosovo Constitutional Court with respect to the admissibility requirements of a specific judicial review. Shukri Sylejmani, judge at the Supreme Court, then examined the procedure for the specific judicial review from the perspective of the referring court. In addition to the role and requirements of the courts and parties, he also set out the challenges that arise in this context.

Following the Kosovar lectures, a number of speakers, on behalf of the IRZ, Prof. Dr. Dr. hc. Gertrude Lübbe-Wolff (former judge of the Federal Constitutional Court / Professor of Public Law at Bielefeld University) and Prof. Dr. Michael Eichberger (former judge of the Federal Constitutional Court / Honorary Professor at Eberhard-Karls University of Tübingen) outlined the German legal framework, practice and experience with the specific judicial review. Prof. Dr. Lübbe-Wolff first placed the instrument of specific judicial review in its historical and comparative legal context, and presented the procedure to the Federal Constitutional Court. Prof. Dr. Eichberger examined the subject matter of admissibility requirements and the scope of the review in more detail, and explored the potential content and effects of decisions during a specific judicial review before the Federal Constitutional Court.

The virtual expert discussion was characterised by the active participation of the participating judges and an overall very open and trusting atmosphere. The participation of German experts enabled the participants to take a comprehensive look at the legal foundations, procedural processes, admissibility requirements and handling of the specific judicial review in Kosovo with reference to German legal practice. The exchange of expertise and experience between the German and Kosovar judges and legal practitioners also offered the opportunity to identify best practices and approaches to solutions for the Kosovar context along with the challenges.