16 minutes agoFreedom House report: Political interference and widespread corruption in the judiciary
Periskopi(4 years ago)
(4 years ago)Political interference in the judiciary remains problematic, and widespread corruption in court negatively affects the independence of the system assessing Freedom House's latest report on Kosovo. The report's findings found that the judicial system lacks qualified judges who prevent the performance of the judiciary. Chapter of Order and Law in Freedom Report [...]
The report also speaks of the government's initiative Kurti to create Vetting's mechanism in justice.
“in 2021, the government Kurti created a working group to create a veto mechanism in the judiciary, discussions remained ongoing at the end of”, the report said.
For prosecutors and courts, the report says they remain influenced by political interference and corruption.
“Procurators and courts remain sensitive to political interventions and corruption by powerful political and business elites, damaging the right process”, it is said further.
The report speaks of illegal structures operating in northern Kosovo even though there was agreement between Kosovo and Serbia mediated by the EU to dismantle these structures.
“Even though the EU brokered an agreement in 2015 between Kosovo and Serbia to dismantle Serbian security force Civilna Zastita (Civil Protection) in northern Kosovo, there have been reports that the force is still operating illegally. Prison conditions have improved in recent years, but violence and poor medical care remain a problem. Police sometimes mistreat those arrested in detention”, the report says.
As far as specialised rooms are concerned, the report says the Special Court is popular with Kosovo Albanians.
“in November 2020, a number of former members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (UÇK) included former President Thaci possibly accused of war crimes by Kosovo's Specialised Chambers (DSK), a court in The Hague investigating war crimes committed during the 199899 Kosovo war. for independence. The first trials of KLA fighters began in December 2021; the accused remained in custody at the end of the year. The KSK is unpopular among Kosovo Albanians and the government earlier tried to stop its work through efforts to abolish or renegotiate the 2015 law that defines its existence”, says among other things in Freedom House's report.
