Lumez: We have proved that no one is immune

Lumez pointed out the fact that during 2020, the State Attorney has hired 43 thousand and 446 criminal cases while resolving 49 thousand and 381 criminal cases. In all, another 5 thousand and 935 cases of criminal possession over the years have been resolved.

The state prosecutor said the fight against corruption and organised crime is state-owned agenda of the Republic of Kosovo and a very important element on the integration path of our country into the big European family.

“In this direction we have targeted eight new cases involving high-level corruption, organised crime and other serious crimes, sending the number of targeted cases to 69. During the past year, various charges have been filed for criminal acts of abuse of official office, where among the accused there are former cabinet ministers of the Republic of Kosovo, judges, policemen and other state officials, with whom we have testified that no one is immune to the State Prosecutor and that all those who have fallen into court with the law will be brought to justice, despite their status in society or function exercising<1>, Lumez said.

Lumez said great importance has also been devoted to fighting organised crime. During the past year, the State Prosecutor has resolved seven cases of 34 persons, out of a total of 8 cases that he has accepted.

“Thanks to a long investigation led by the State Prosecutor and a close co-operation with other law enforcement institutions, both with the Police and Police Inspectorate, in September 2020 a major operation was conducted in the village of Karacheva of the Kamenica municipality, where a large case of organised crime was destroyed at the order of the prosecution, with scores of people between them and police officials being arrested, as well as given a substantial amount of assets of <18x>, Lumzi added.

Lumez's full speech:

FJ THE CRYPROCURY OF STATES IT, ALEKANDER HAPPINESS, ME

RAST IN MUCH SUGGENCY YEARS PROCURAGES

Pristina, January 22, 2021

Your Honor, Mrs. Vjosa Osmani, U.D. President of the Republic of Kosovo,

Honored by chief prosecutors, prosecutors, employees of the prosecutorial system,

Honored Ambassadors and Representatives of diplomatic missions

Accredited in the Republic of Kosovo,

Dear directors of local institutions,

Honored media representatives,

It's a pleasure to welcome and thank you for the virtual participation at the Annual Conference of State Prosecutors, which this year is being carried on unusually because of the situation with Ovid-19. As in past years, the last 12-month period was filled with challenges and difficulties. Unfortunately, we also lost (3) prosecutors, who zealously, committed, professionally and faithfully served the State Attorney's institution, leaving us with great pain and emptiness within our system. However, from the vast number of challenges and difficulties we have faced, it is essential that we have shown that we are willing and able to act in an adequate way, successfully responding to the needs of the time, in spite of the circumstances caused by the Padrea vivi-19, the State Prosecutor's work was not banned for a moment, thus responsibly carrying out the institutional duties outlined with the constitutions and legislation in effect.

To prove this, I point out the fact that during 2020, the State Attorney has hired 43 thousand and 446 cases of criminal possession while reaching 49 thousand and 381 criminal cases. In all, another 5 thousand and 935 cases of criminal possession over the years have been resolved. Based on the European Commission's indicators on Justice Efficiency (CEPEJ), the number of materials resolved in relation to the number of accepted materials during this period results in the state prosecutor's resolution rate of the matter is 113,66%. Even during the next year, we have been unique, showing our strength that we all do together as State Attorney, and have testified to the determination to face any form of crime and on this path no one will stop us, because this is the state's interest and we act on behalf of the state.

Under the prosecution's orders, measures and actions have been taken, which have resulted in the dawning of more serious criminal acts, while being deprived of freedom and many members of criminal groups have been prosecuted. In this way, we have sent clear orders to all that no one can be placed over state institutions. The society is rightly waiting for prosecutors to contribute through real and impartial investigations to clean up the state, politics and institutions from corruption, nepotism, abuse and any other form of crime that violates social and judicial relations. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the awareness of state prosecutors for the necessity of increasing efficiency and determination in pursuing, discovering and punishing these cases. For the handling of high-level corruption subjects, we need professional, courageous, integrity-trained and trained people who certainly exist within the prosecutorial system.

Fighting corruption and organised crime is the state agenda of the Republic of Kosovo and a very important element on the integration path of our country into the large European family. In this regard we have targeted eight (8) new cases involving high-level corruption, organised crime and other serious crimes, sending the number of targeted cases to 69. During the past year, various charges have been filed for criminal acts of abuse of official office, where among the accused there are former cabinet ministers of the Republic of Kosovo, judges, policemen and other state officials, with whom we have proved that no one is immune to the State Prosecutor and that all those who have fallen into court with the law will be brought to justice despite their status in society or function that they exercise.

In order to strengthen the rule of law and advance the fight against corruption, organised crime and seizure of illegally acquired assets, with the support of the UNDP in Kosovo, as chief State Prosecutor, I have signed the Memorandum of Co-operation with the Basel Institute, which will assist the Prosecutor in tracking and identifying assets illegally acquired by Kosovo citizens, as well as those located outside the territory of the Republic of Kosovo.

Also, together with the Kosovo Tax Administration, we have signed an inter-institute memorandum aimed at intensifying co-operation in exchange of information and obtaining cases when there are differences between the revenues and the expenses of the physical and legal persons operating in Kosovo, who have allegedly committed criminal acts and created unwarranted assets. We are aware that only prison sentences of the perpetrators do not seriously move the fight against corruption, but additional sanctions must also be issued for the ban on the exercise of office, but also decisions on the permanent seizure of property acquired by criminal acts. The key to success in fighting corruption lies in acquiring the economic power and illegal property of individuals and criminal groups. In this direction, prosecutors' role should become more active. We have also devoted great importance to fighting organized crime. During the past year, the State Prosecutor has resolved seven (7) cases of 34 persons, of total (8) cases that he has accepted.

Thanks to a lengthy investigation led by the State Prosecutor and a close co-operation with other law enforcement institutions, such as the Police and Police Inspectorate, in September 2020 a major operation was conducted in the village of Karacheva of the Kamenica municipality, where a large case of organised crime was destroyed at the order of the prosecution, with scores of people being arrested among them as well as police officials, and substantial amounts of valuables have been seized.

Honored, we are aware that contemporary risks of justice and security cannot be solved by a single state, so we have increased regional and international co-operation in fighting transnational crimes. We have already made the necessary institutional and state progress even in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism. This is evidenced even by international credit reports, where, recently, according to the Global Terrorism Index, the Republic of Kosovo is ranked 135th, as one of the safest countries in the world, where the impact of terrorism is minimal. In this direction, I would like to thank the United States for helping with various forms for the State Prosecutor's institution, as well as continued support for

The Republic of Kosovo, in the fight against violent terror and extremism. We will continue to be loyal partners of theirs and other Western countries in the fight against terrorism and other crimes that violate the democratic values of our societies. Special attention has also been given to requests coming from other states for international legal assistance. In this area 342 requirements have been resolved and investigative action taken according to the demands of foreign states. Regarding the treatment of war crimes, I would like to underline the fact that positive steps have been made in empowering the War Crimes Department, which operates under the Special Prosecutor of the Republic of Kosovo, where a new prosecutor in this department has been appointed, leading to four (4) the number of prosecutors exclusively dealing with these cases. However, to have greater success, it is essential to have broad institutional support in establishing resources for handling war crimes cases, to improve legislation facilitating prosecution, investigation and trial in absence, and to fix the issue of extradition of suspects with states that do not recognise the Republic of Kosovo, separately with Serbia, which does not yet hand over its citizens, so that the perpetrators of these criminal acts are becoming unreachable for Kosovo's justice bodies.

I would like to highlight the fact that, in December 2020, the state prosecutor has received powerful support from the United States for handling war crimes, and I am optimistic that we will soon show results in this regard. On the other hand, protecting the victims of crime has been a priority of our institutional dedication, where services to them did not stop for a moment, nor during confrontation with the David-19 pandemic.

In 2020, the Office for the Protection and Help of Victims, which functions under the State Chief Prosecutor's Office, has provided assistance to 1687 cases of victims of all categories. Of them, 1542 have been victims of domestic violence, 10 cases of human trafficking. A rise in cases of sexual rape and harassment has also been noted, where 34 cases of rape and 60 other cases of sexual harassment have been recorded during this time. We hope that with the amendment of the Law to the compensation of crime victims, easier access to the right to compensation for all victims will be established without having to be expected until the end of the judicial process.

Honored, at the end of last year we have elected the new Prosecutor's Chief Prosecutor of Appeals and six (6) chief prosecutor of the Kosovo Republic. Young prosecutors want to tell you that difficult challenges await you since receiving these duties. The time we're going through proves this. Your responsibility is to prove that you are willing to lead these prosecutors and that the decisions you make will be right, professional and exclusively in line with constitutional norms and legal provisions. I want to believe that you are all willing to defend the honor of the State Attorney's institution and I expect you to prove this by your actions. In your work and leadership, you will have my support and the prosecutorial system in the best organization and operation of these prosecutors. We all need to be aware that trust, sincerity and communication between prosecutors, prosecutors and the chief state prosecutor must be strengthened in order to establish the performance, authority and prestige of the State Prosecutor's institution.

During the following year, three new departments were established in this prosecutor's purpose for reorganizing, increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the Special Prosecutor, along with the War Crimes Department, which was established in 2015, and the Department for Corruption and Financial Crime. These departments have also divided and profiled the relevant prosecutors, and this will directly affect the establishment of the performance of this prosecutor, whose jurisdiction extends to the entire territory of the Republic of Kosovo in investigating and prosecuting the worst crimes.

Also, four new prosecutors have already been appointed to the Special Prosecutors, and I am convinced that the energy, courage, integrity and professionalism of these prosecutors will bring good results separately in tackling high-level corruption and other crimes that are at the disposal of this prosecution. Meanwhile, in order to advance transparency, the State Prosecutor, with objective and impartial approaches, has been open to communicate and co-operate with the media and civil society, always maintaining the right balance between the integrity of investigations and criminal procedure, on the one hand, as well as the public's interest in getting information, on the other side. We will continue to increase this co-operation within professional standards, because we consider the media and civil society powerful partners in the fight against all criminal phenomena happening in our society. Clearly, during 2020, we have demonstrated institutional determination to improve the justice system in our country.

The State Prosecutor's Institute has also actively contributed to functional revision groups of the rule of law sector and the drafting of the concept concerning accountability modalities in Kosovo's justice system. In this case, I want to say that whatever motives the Republic of Kosovo is pushing to take initiatives for reform in justice, leadership and regulator of these reforms must be the people of the justice system in close co-operation with international partners, in particular with the American Embassy, the Great Britain, the EU Office, other embassies of Western countries and civil society.

This reform or vetoing of the judicial system should focus on empowering commissions, which operate within the Prosecutorial Council and the Judiciary, thus raising accountability, transparency and professionalism of the holders of prosecutorial and judicial functions. Consolidating judicial power depends not only on legal reforms but also on the good will to be fair, meaning stability in law enforcement and the high moral and professional integrity of judges and prosecutors. These features should be standards of a value system that we are aiming to strengthen. In the end, I want to say that there are still challenges and challenges within the justice system, which we should not see as obstacles. Rather, their solution is seeing it as a goal to be accomplished as soon as possible.

I strongly believe that in close co-operation with international partners we will strengthen the rule of law and independent justice institutions, which promote impartiality, transparency and accountability, which are essential attributes for our state's progress. Of you dear colleagues, I expect this year to show greater commitment, professionalism, integrity and responsibility in fulfilling constitutional and legal duties so that we can strengthen the trust of citizens in the justice system.

I wish you good work and success in the year we just started!

Alexander Lumez

Chief State Prosecutor.