Special Court and Crime to Judge

The term special UN Court is used in German texts. The Court of War Crimes is used in English texts. The court's own website uses Specialised Rooms” and “Office of the Specialised Prosecutor” in Albanian. In fact, there is no clear legal precedent.

What Is Special Court?

It all started in December 2010 with the report prepared for the Council of Europe, for <x1 human treatment and organ trafficking” in Kosovo, called Dick Marty's report. After the report's approval, EULEX established a Special Force for Investigation (SIFT). Kosovo later signed an agreement with the EU pledging implementation of the legal state. The agreement returned to the law following approval by the Kosovo Parliament in August 2015. So the way was opened to create the Special Prosecutor's Office. The Tasforca became part of the Prosecutor's Office in September 2016 when it became the Prosecutor's appointment.

In fact, two separate and independent institutions were created: Specialised Attorney's Office and Specialized Rooms. Both institutions have five years' mandates and are headquartered at The Hague.

Specialised rooms consist of the administration and specialised courts. Chambers are attached to the judicial system in Kosovo at all levels. What it means is that the Constitutional Court, Court of Appeals and Supreme Court in Kosovo will have a Specialised Chamber to deal with crimes.

What crimes?

While it is difficult to understand the structure of the Court, it is very clear what crimes are involved. The Specialised Prosecutor's Office, led by the Prosecutor, prosecutes crimes involved in the jurisdiction of the Court and is determined by law. They are war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in 1998, 1999 and 2000, in the territory where today the Republic of Kosovo lies, committed by people caught by law, crimes reported in Dick Marty's report”, says Christopher Bennett, SIFT spokesman.

Following the crime is called politicization?

Regarding charges of politicisation, Christopher Bennett told Deutsche Welle: “The Specialised Prosecutor and the Specialised Prosecutor's Office are based on law and facts. Their work is not influenced by ethnicity, political orientation or by issues related to Kosovo's independence. The Specialised Prosecutor's Office is directed entirely by responsibility, to be brought before the law with a fair process of all those who committed crimes involved in its jurisdiction. These court processes will be conducted outside Kosovo, as the law predicts, in order to ensure no political influence. Adopting the law, Kosovo accepted co-operation in implementing the rule of law and the nonpolitical treatment of the Marty report. This is something the Prosecutor and the Special Prosecutor's Office take very seriously”, noted spokesman Christopher Bennett.