What will happen to the sentences pronounced for disrespecting anti-coronavirus measures

The Kosovo Assembly on Friday approved 77 votes for the Second Read Bill for Prevention and Combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

This bill was initiated in April after the Constitutional Court had declared the decision to restrict the movement then undertaken by the Kurti Government.
The Law for Prevention and Combating the COVID-19 pandemic on the territory of the Republic of Kosovo has no retroactive powers to punish citizens who have so far received mandated penalties from the Sanitary Inspectorate and Kosovo Police.

Artan Murati, adviser to Chief Prime Minister Vjosa Omsnai, who was also a proposor of the Anti-Convid Law, has confirmed to Express that the Law will have no retroactive effect.

The law has no retroactive effect, because the perpetrators have no retroactive effect unless they have been previously seen with legal acts in force. So this law goes into effect on the day it is proclaimed in the official newspaper of the Republic of Kosovo”, Murati said.

However, citizens and businesses against whom penal procedures have been initiated by the Sanitarian Inspectorate and the Kosovo Police, for disrespecting measures against COVID-19, will be condemned under the Law to fight infectious diseases in force.

That is said by Food and Veterina Agency spokesman Lamir Thaci.

All those who have been initiated punishment procedures by the Sanitarian Inspectorate of the Food and Veterinary Agency will be continued according to the Laws and rulings in power, at the time the” fines were initiated, Thaci stated.

The Law on Fighting Infectious Diseases and Pandemics clears the competencies and legal mandates, including punishments for those who ignored the measures.

The sentences, which KSF and police inspectors pronounce, are in advance with the Law to prevent and fight infectious diseases, where the Government of Kosovo is based on measures to prevent COVID-19.

The physical person is fined a fine of 1,000 to 2,000, and the legal person with a fine of $3,000 to 8,000. The person responsible is fined 500m to 1,500, for countering paragraph 1 of this Article”, said in the Law.
Punishment according to this Law is also provided for those who refuse to observe.

The physical person is fined 250m to 1,000, for injustice: a) if he refuses to observe and isolate himself in the health institution, the facility designated for this purpose, when he is sick, or when he is suspected of being ill of a certain infectious disease under the 17th article of this law”, the Law says.

Meanwhile, with the new Law on Combating COVIID-19, any person who does not wear the mask is sentenced to 35 euros, while the non-recognisor will be sentenced to 200 euros.

Those who do not respect the isolation will be sentenced to 500 euros.
The government's decision, which obliges citizens to wear masks and respect physical distance, has entered into force from July 13th.