Failure with corruption and organised crime cases even in 2021

Even in 2021 the justice system has not noted progress in dealing with the problems it faces over the years. The lack of results in handling high profile cases, the extension of court procedures for civil and administrative subjects, and the failure to keep sessions are just some of the shortcomings that have accompanied this system during the following year.

Organisations dealing with monitoring the work of the justice system consider that the year 2021 for justice institutions is a repeat of what happened in the past years. According to them, the year 2021 is an additional argument that justice institutions must submit to the property process.

The executive director of the Kosovo Institute for Justice (IKD), Ehat Miftaraj, says that during the past year, there has been no high profile case that has been sentenced to strict bias.

“If we take on cases of high corruption even 2021 we don't have a single high profile case which has been convicted of strict bias and has gone to the suffering of punishment, this year we've had basically three cases which have been more known to the high-level public, were primarily three mayors whose Hakki Rugova has already been released from criminal responsibility by the Court of Appeals, even though the Constitutional Court had condemned him. We have the case of (the chairman of) Cline (Zenun Elezaj) who was sentenced to a fine of 4 thousand euros a few days ago and we have the case of Paul Lekaj (former head of Gjakova) who too was released from criminal responsibility”, Miftaraj said.

Mifttaraj said that in Uke Rugova's case, the court is impacting the case to be postponed for a long time, while stressing that minor results have been achieved in terms of the seizure of illegal property.

If we take the case of Uke Rugova, where criminal acts of organised crime enter, we talk about a case that started for years earlier and by inaction we can say freely that the court is influencing the case to be pushed back and in a very long period of time. If we take into account the seizure of property acquired through criminal acts of organised crime or corruption even here we can say that Kosovo has had aggression, it is not that there has been any major case in which wealth was confiscated, which is the result of criminal convictions punishable by the” courts, Miftaraj said.

Geze Hoxha-Zhuja, from the Group for Jury and Political Studies, says that in 2021 no progress in the justice system has been noted, while the same problems will be inherited this year.

There has been no progress unfortunately and that the same existing problems so far continue to remain and are following us even in 2022. [...] We only have one case of money laundering where the prosecution is being taken, while other cases continue to follow through the years. In addition, existing problems are the absence of hearings, of holding sessions, which then affects growth and the extent of cases that directly affect the right to fair judgment. Then, we have unreasonable convictions, and then we have weak charges which are destined to fail”, she said.

GLPS researcher says that the very fact that classes are being neglected and not treated properly shows that the system has problems with corruption and lack of professionalism.

There have been a large number of cases this year that have been neglected and the system has not been efficient in addressing problems and creating and providing justice. At the same time, it should be mentioned that even we do not have the final court rulings that describe a judge or prosecutor as violating the Penal Code or official duty. So we can't say with full certainty that the system is corrupt, but the fact that we have numerous cases in which the treatment of cases is done in a way where the case is created to fail then that leaves a lot of space that there are problems in that system, whether there are problems of corruption, or lack of professionalism, but also of the unwillingness of the will to perform the”, it followed.

Justice Minister Albulen Haxhiu agrees with criticism of organisations that monitor the work of justice institutions. She says great sorrow remains the failure to act on high profile cases and the protractedness of subjects near justice institutions.

“Interferences from either individuals or interest groups, either from politicians or different powers, are unacceptable and are very expressed in the justice system. Disaction against high profile cases, such as organised crime and corruption, is nothing else, or besides, proves that these people are interested in the name only of the person investigated or tried, that the work they did and should be the opposite”, it said.

In mid-December, the EULEX Mission in Kosovo has presented the second public report on systemic and Telecommunication Monitoring in Justice with findings and recommendations for improving the rule of law in Kosovo, under which Kosovo's judicial system is applying detention systematically and without reasoning, while concern over the system considered non-productive sessions and lack of progress in handling high profile cases. /kp