4 hours agoConstitutional decision to ban running for MP for criminal persons is considered political
Periskopi(5 years ago)
(5 years ago)The Constitutional Court's ruling, which prohibits the running of MPs convicted of criminal acts with a formal form judicial ruling in the past three years, is seen as political and inefficient to root out the political scene in Kosovo. Among those sentenced in the last three years are the leader of the Movement [...]
Among those sentenced in the past three years are Vetevendosje Movement leader Albin Kurti, as well as deputies Albulen Haxhiu, Faton Topalli and Donika Kadai-Bujupi. They were sentenced on bail on January 3, 2018, for throwing tear gas into Kosovo's Assembly environments.
According to Ehat Miftaw of the Kosovo Institute for Justice (IKD), this Constitutional decision affects only a small part, but not all official persons and politicians who are charged with corrupt criminal acts.
As such, Miftaraj says that this decision cannot remove from the political scene those who are condemned and who have charges.
“This decision of the Constitutional Court can be said to affect a very limited, very small number of persons (of politics). This decision by the Constitutional Court is not that it will make any major difference, it will not make de anymore the decontination of the political scene in Kosovo”, Miftaraj says.
He stresses that political parties must adopt documents through which they clean up the political scene, in any case when a person is accused or has problems with the law.
According to him, in this way not only the Parliament but other executive institutions would be cleared of elements that have problems with the law.
The director of the Group for Political and Juridical Studies, Arbresha Loja, tells Rel that self-defence or decritalisation of politics cannot be done with arbitrary parameters.
The Constitutional Court's latest act, according to her, is political.
“We consider that only clear objective definitions can contribute to the purity of the Assembly, and not to the temporary and clear political definitions, as is the case with the recent act of Constitutional Court”, it says.
Loxha says there must be a distinction of criminal acts, and that, according to her, has not been made by the Constitutional Court.
We consider that limiting the right to run would not be necessary and that it could not be done that way, unless the person who is to be run is convicted of any serious crime or criminal acts that have stemmed from negligence or political action”, Loxha says.
Ehat Miftaraj of the IKD says the Constitutional Court with this decision has made efforts to improve the errors of fair courts.
According to him, courts do not have the courage to judge and condemn political officials to limit the right to run with judicial decisions.
If that does not happen, Miftaraj says that this practice will continue in the future.
“Based on Kosovo's applicable law, according to Article 45 of the Constitution, Kosovo courts in every case when they judge and condemn politicians, public officials have the opportunity that, through complementary punishment, they limit the right to exercise public functions for a certain period of”, Miftaraj says.
The 65-page fullst Constitutional Court Act concerning the unconstitutional election of the Government of Kosovo, led by Avdullah Hoti, was published on January 6th this year.
The Vetevendosje movement had sent the issue to the Constitution regarding the constitutionality of the government's Hoti vote, because for this government on June 3rd had voted Etem Arifi, sentenced to a precipitous form decision of more than one year imprisonment for criminal work “subsidies”.
His vote was crucial to forming the Avdullah Hoti government of the Democratic League of Kosovo.
Following the Constitutional Court's decision, President Vjosa Osmani's task officer, has announced the new parliamentary elections, which will be held on February 14th.
