4 hours agoBorrell calls Thaci's request unacceptable for extending special mandate
Periskopi(6 years ago)
(6 years ago)European Union for Foreign Policy and Security High Representative Josep Borrell considers Kosovo President Hashim Thaci's request unacceptable for constitutional changes in terms of extending the mandate of Specialised Chambers and Prosecutor's Office in The Hague. Borrell has expressed his position in the reply [...]
European Union for Foreign Policy and Security High Representative Josep Borrell considers Kosovo President Hashim Thaci's request unacceptable for constitutional changes in terms of extending the mandate of Specialised Chambers and Prosecutor's Office in The Hague.
His position, Borrell, has expressed in the response he has sent to Kosovo Constitutional Court Specialised Chambers, headquartered in The Hague, which is working on collecting documentation concerning Thaci's request to the Kosovo Assembly.
The answer is published on the website of these rooms.
In his response, Borrell has said the “requirement for constitutional changes is unacceptable because Thaci did not hold consultations with the European Union's Chief of Mission for Rule of Law in Kosovo (EULEX) before submitting such a request”.
According to Borrell's statement, such a consultation is meant to be in exchange of letters between Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga and EU Foreign Affairs High Representative Catherine Ashton on April 14, 2014.
This exchange of letters refers to the mandate of the EU Mission in Kosovo and the establishment of “Special Court”, and “The Specialised Prosecutor” for any procedure initiated after the investigation by Task-special international force, which initially investigated claims by a Council of Europe report on crimes allegedly committed by the Kosovo Liberation Army before, during and after the war in Kosovo.
Borrell claims in advance that the proposed constitutional changes have to do with judicial procedures from that investigation, namely, the exchange of letters ratified by the Assembly of Kosovo as an international agreement, which stipulates that any legal changes should be made in consultation between the president and EULEX chief.
President Thaci has turned to the Kosovo Parliament's Headship with the proposal for changing the Constitution in late August.
In his proposal, he has sought to change provisions of the constitutional amendment, where the Special Court's mandate reportedly will last for a period of five years.
Under Thaci's proposal, the mandate of Special Court “will last until the announcement of the end of the mandate is made by the European Union Council, in consultation with the Government of the Republic of Kosovo”.
On 18 September, Kosovo Parliament Speaker Vjosa Osmani has announced that she has submitted Thaci's request to The Hague regarding the Special Court's mandate.
According to Article 144 of the Constitution, constitutional changes are adopted by 2/3 of the Kosovo Assembly deputies.
The vote takes place after the Speaker of the Assembly addresses the Constitutional to assess the proposed changes in advance.
Otherwise, The Hague's Specialised Prosecutor's Office in its comment said the proposed constitutional changes by Kosovo President Hashim Thaci, for the continuation of the Special Court's mandate, are intended to undo or negate the actions of the Specialised Prosecutor.
The Specialised Chambers and Specialised Prosecutor at The Hague, also known as the Special Court, deal with the investigation into alleged war crimes of members of the former Kosovo Liberation Army.
The Specialised Prosecutor's Office has filed a war crimes indictment against President Hashim Thaci in April, but has not yet been disclosed whether the indictment has been confirmed or rejected by the judge of the preliminary procedure. \ REL
