Kosovo – annual report 2023

Details
Published: September 4, 2024

Strategic Framework

Legal Policy Starting Point

After Prime Minister Albin Kurti announced his intention to cut the salaries of all judges and public prosecutors, there were strikes in the courts and public prosecutor‘s offices, which continued in early 2023. Cooperation between the judiciary and the executive was no longer possible, and all joint reform initiatives came to a standstill. Following the signing of a joint declaration of commitment, cooperation was resumed in order to press ahead with the necessary judicial reform projects.

After Kosovo applied to join the Council of Europe in 2022, the first formal phase of accession was successfully completed in 2023. The membership application was accepted with the votes of two-thirds of the member states and the accession process was initiated. The two-thirds majority was made possible after Russia was excluded from the Council of Europe. Serbia voted against Kosovo‘s application.

Overall, the relationship between Kosovo and Serbia remains very tense and was further exacerbated in 2023. This was triggered by a decision by the Kosovan government to appoint ethnic Albanian mayors in four northern Kosovan municipalities with a Serb majority. Serbian residents had previously boycotted the local elections there. There were violent protests, which led to an increased presence of the NATO-led KFOR task force in Kosovo. In June, Kosovo closed its borders to goods and vehicles from Serbia, and conflicts broke out between Serbian security forces, a militarily equipped fighting force and the police.

The European Union continues to mediate in the conflict and insists on the implementation of the Ohrid Annex, which provides for extensive mutual recognition.

Overall Concept

As a potential candidate for EU accession, Kosovo is an important partner state of IRZ. The Federal Ministry of Justice, the Federal Foreign Office and the European Union finance the implemented measures and cover all legal fields in multi-year projects. When designing these projects, it is ensured that they correspond to the need for reform, are complementary to each other and build IRZ strengthened its cooperation, particularly in the area of criminal law, in particular through a project funded by the Federal Foreign Office to combat money laundering. In addition, there are further training programmes for prison staff in the area of “addiction aid and prevention” as well as projects on probation assistance.

The regional approach was intensified in the cooperation on constitutional law. For example, the two constitutional courts and the two supreme courts of Albania and Kosovo once again met together in Pristina.

The training courses on “Public Relations” and “Crisis Communication”, which IRZ had previously organised with the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council (KPC) and the public prosecutors‘ offices in various regions, were expanded to include court employees.

The multi-year EU project “EUKOJUST-Kosovo Justice Sector Programme”, which IRZ is leading, complements IRZ‘s cooperation with Kosovo.

Focus on Activity in 2023

Constitutional Law, Human Rights and their Enforceability

  • Joint conference of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of Kosovo on the topic of “Right to a fair trial: Article 6 ECHR” in Thessaloniki
  • Regional conference on “Access to Justice” in cooperation with the Constitutional Courts and Supreme Courts of Kosovo and Albania in Pristina

Administration of Justice

  • Seminar on “Internal and external communication of judicial authorities: Use of social media” for press spokespersons from the judiciary and public prosecutor‘s office in Pristina
  • Study trip to North Rhine-Westphalia (Düsseldorf and Wuppertal) on the topic of “Press and public relations work by judicial authorities” in cooperation with the KPC
  • Seminar on “Crisis communication in the judiciary” for press spokespersons of the judiciary in Pristina

Criminal and penitentiary law

  • Train-the-trainer workshop for prison staff on the topic of “Initial and further training in the field of addiction aid and prevention” in cooperation with the Lipjan prison
  • Study trip to Lower Saxony (Göttingen and Hamelin) for prison staff on the topic of “Training and further training in the field of addiction support” in cooperation with Lipjan prison
  • Seminar on the topic of “Juvenile criminal proceedings: The role and tasks of the defence in pre-trial proceedings” in cooperation with the Kosovo Bar Association in Prizren
  • Two roundtable discussions on the topic of “Cross-sectoral cooperation between probation services, judges and public prosecutors with regard to alternative measures and penalties with a focus on juvenile criminal law” in Pristina and Peja
  • Three needs analysis trips and roundtable discussions on the topic of “Preventing and combating money laundering” with stakeholders in money laundering prosecution in Pristina
  • Advice on money laundering prevention and prosecution (ongoing assessment of legal regulations and development of recommendations for action by a German team of experts for the Office of the Prime Minister of Kosovo)
  • Seminar on the topic of “cryptocurrencies” in cooperation with the Kosovar police and public prosecutor‘s office in Pristina
  • Study trip to Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia (Frankfurt, Wiesbaden and Cologne) on the topic of “cryptocurrencies” in cooperation with the Kosovar police and public prosecutor‘s office
  • Two seminars on “Combating money laundering” in cooperation with the Kosovo Judicial Academy in Pristina
  • Seminar on “The Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction” in cooperation with the Kosovan Ministry of Justice in Pristina
  • Translation and printing of the commentary on bilateral agreements for criminal law cooperation in cooperation with the Kosovan Ministry of Justice

Basic and Further Training

  • Study trip for prospective judges and public prosecutors to Rhineland-Palatinate (Trier and Koblenz) in cooperation with the Kosovan Justice Academy

Project funded by the European Union EU grant project EUKOJUST in Kosovo

In Kosovo, IRZ is leading the EU project EUKOJUST on behalf of the European Union in cooperation with the Dutch partner CILC and the Croatian Ministry of Justice in Pristina. The 40-month flagship project aims to drive forward the reform of the justice sector in Kosovo and improve the quality of justice for the country‘s citizens on the road to EU integration.

In the context of possible EU membership, the institutions in Kosovo receive support in adapting the justice system to European and international standards and in the institutional preparation for the EU accession process. The project places a particular focus on improving cooperation and coordination within the judicial system, strengthening the independence and transparency of the judiciary, consolidating and harmonising the legal framework and improving access to justice, especially for women and disadvantaged groups.

In the 2023 reporting year, the project organised a total of 41 events, including workshops, training courses and round table discussions, and reached around 1,060 participants. In addition, the experts prepared analyses, draft laws, expert opinions and recommendations and supported their implementation.

The Ministry of Justice of Kosovo received advice on restructuring and reorganisation, while internal regulations were revised. The project‘s team of experts developed an overall strategy for the digitalisation of the justice sector and set up software for the electronic management of judges‘

files. This enables the Judicial Council to carry out processes – such as the recruitment of new judges, performance appraisals and disciplinary proceedings – more efficiently and transparently.

Support in the area of legislation included the creation of a concept document for the Code of Civil Procedure, which paved the way for its development. As part of the reform of administrative justice, a concept document on administrative justice reform was developed with the help of project experts and has since been adopted. As a result, a working group supported by the project began drafting the law establishing an administrative court. For legal consolidation, the introduction of a pre-screening thematic approach for legal harmonisation was initiated.

In order to improve access to justice, raise awareness of gender issues and support the practical implementation of the legal framework for dealing with domestic violence, the project implemented targeted measures to strengthen the capacities of rule of law actors in this regard. It developed twelve training materials to promote judicial reform in line with EU best practice. In addition, the Ministry of Justice received advice on the adopted law on domestic violence in order to bring it into line with the EU acquis and the Istanbul Convention. To improve access to justice, the project also organised several information events and training sessions as protective measures for victims.

Despite domestic political difficulties and temporary stagnation in cooperation between the Ministry of Justice and the judicial stakeholders, considerable progress was made in supporting the inter-institutional coordination mechanism. The different institutions of the judiciary were able to overcome blockades by reaching a written agreement on joint legal reform packages.

In this context, EUKOJUST supported the institutions during the reporting year in coordinating working groups, regular working meetings and the preparation of progress reports.

IRZ applied to the European Union for a cost-neutral extension of the project until June 2024 in order to continue supporting the judicial actors in the implementation of the action plan.

Outlook

IRZ will continue its intensive and fruitful cooperation with its partner institutions in Kosovo in 2024. As far as possible, IRZ also intends to suport central institutions such as the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court and to facilitate important platforms for the exchange of expertise and experience and thus also for networking. Furthermore, the established cooperation with the various departments of the Kosovan Ministry of Justice, the KPC and the Judicial Academy, among others, is to be continued. In 2024, the thematic focus will be on “Access to justice, including for vulnerable groups” and will also include topics such as juvenile criminal law, public relations work in the justice system and the basic training and further education of judges and public prosecutors.