Expert talk with the Kosovo Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court

Details

Published: September 8, 2023

The IRZ organised a two-day conference with the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kosovo on 18-19 July 2023 in Thessaloniki on the topic of the “Right to a fair trial”. This joint exchange of expertise and experience should help to promote a uniform understanding of competence and legal opinion between the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court in Kosovo. This format also assisted discussions between the two courts.

15 judges and nine academic staff from both courts therefore met for two days to discuss topics such as the “Right of access to justice”, the “Right to freedom and security” and the “Right to a reasoned decision”.

The President of the Constitutional Court, Ms. Gresa Caka-Nimani, the President of the Supreme Court, Mr. Fejzullah Rexhepi, the Chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council, Mr. Albert Zogaj and the head of the Southeast Europe II/South Caucasus project area, Mr. Frank Hupfeld, opened the conference and in their welcoming words, emphasised the importance of such regular exchanges and a harmonious interaction between the two courts.

For Germany, the IRZ invited Mr. Winfried Schubert, President of the State Constitutional Court of Saxony-Anhalt and former President of the Higher Regional Court in Naumburg to take part in the event, who opened the conference with a keynote speech on the relationship between constitutional courts and supreme courts based on German experiences. 

After introductory presentations by a judge from the Kosovo Constitutional Court and a judge from the Supreme Court, the participants debated intensively and sometimes controversially in three panel discussions about the principles, developments and challenges of the right to a fair trial with reference to case-law in Kosovo. In addition, Mr. Schubert highlighted the topics with respect to German practice and the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights.

The two-day expert discussions enabled the participants to benefit from the specialist knowledge and perspectives of their colleagues - flanked by German experiences - and to gain a deeper understanding of both the importance of the right to a fair trial and the fundamental competences and obligations of both courts in the application and interpretation of fundamental rights that are rooted in the constitution.

The event was funded by the Federal Foreign Office as part of the project “Support for several states in the Western Balkans in consolidating rule of law and European standards”.  The exchange between the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Kosovo will continue with Albanian counterparts in autumn 2023 to promote dialogue and the exchange of best practices at a regional level.