Confiscating illegal property priority for LVV, civil society sceptical of results

But civil society representatives say changes to this law can be experienced only after the veto process in Kosovo is complete.

Haxhiu says the law is aimed at empowering the legal package to seize illegal property.

According to her, the idea is that by means of this new law the burden of evidence is placed on the suspect without committing criminal acts.

This legal package must be empowered. By the time I was justice minister, we worked very hard on a document concept, so the idea is to have a law where the burden of evidence is placed on the suspect and where you don't have to commit a criminal offense so that you can be punished, then start the process of seizure of property. But if they look at institutions that an official has wealth in spendout with the income he has then to start the process of justifying his wealth. So that if an official fails to justify the wealth he has then the same is confiscated. I believe that under the circumstances we are going through as a country, where obstacles to economic development are related to crime and corruption, the only way to prove that we have the fight against crime and corruption, and not only to the interior to develop, but that Kosovo is seen differently from other countries supporting Kosovo is undoubtedly empowering the legal package, and on the other hand, the responsible institutions”, she said.

The member of the leadership of the Vetevendosje Movement says that as soon as they arrive in the government, the task force will be established for this law and will immediately proceed towards the Kosovo Assembly.

And I will address this bill and then proceed to the Kosovo Assembly. I strongly wish the same would get the support of the Kosovo Assembly and not only from the majority, from Vetevendosje and from those who will be in the coalition, but I'm saying it is important that the opposition also give its signals that is genuinely interested in addressing the legal package against organised crime and corruption”, Haxhiu said.

The executive director of the Kosovo Institute for Justice (IKD), Ehat Miftaraj, says that Kosovo has very advanced frameworks related to sequencing and confiscating property acquired with criminal activity.

According to him, only after the process of vetoing this LVV initiative could live.

The stake in the seizure of property in this phase is only a campaign after campaign, but in practice it is almost unmet and unmet. As this primarily conflicts with the Stabilisation and Association Agreement Kosovo has with the European Union. The second point is that Kosovo has a very advanced legal framework in terms of seizure and sequenting of property acquired through criminal acts, and the third part is that Kosovo has always suffered for lack of political will and law enforcement fairly, impartially and independently. The way in which the property is being promoted by Mr. Kurti is being confiscated means that the burden of proof is no longer in the institutions of justice but in the citizenship, and in this respect if this law is approved tomorrow it should be a cutting line of when it will start to be implemented. In this direction with a justice system which is politically extremely influential, which depends on interest groups then without a veto and clearing this justice system is too early to start with such an initiative”, Miftaraj said.

But, otherwise, Florent Spahija thinks, from the Kosovo Democratic Institute. According to him, the law that is introducing the Vetevendosje Movement is tough, but with some minor interventions it can become easily applicable.

I think it's a law that's very demanding, and civil society has long demanded that we have a law that would make it more active in understanding illegal property on the part of courts. I'm considering that even current law doesn't have a very big problem, but we have a problem with judges and prosecutors who think or try to make less of a fortune. So if it was a law as promised by the Vetevendosje Movement I think it's a very strict law, but with some minor interventions it could become very good and could be applied very easily to Kosovo and succeed in this area, especially in illegal property”, Spahija said.