Processing for Chief State Prosecutor left <x0 bad>

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani's decision, whether to decree the candidate proposed on Wednesday, April 6th by the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council (KPK) for Chief State Prosecutor Blerim Isufaj, will depend on whether there will be complaints in judicial institutions, including the Constitutional Court, from its rival candidates in the process of selecting for the post.

The office of the Kosovo Presidency, for the time being, has not provided any answers to whether it expects the eventual extension of this process to the decision of decree or not.

In the race for the post of chief state prosecutor, besides Blerim Isufaj, there were Armendi Hamiti, Lulzim Sylejmani, Albanian Fazliu and Kujtim Munishi.

“The issue will be sent to Constitutional Court”

The complaint to the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council decision has already been warned -- at least by one of these candidates, Albanian Fazliu.

His lawyer, Flafron Sylejmani, tells Radio Free Europe that it is currently considering documentation for the case and that all available legal means --” will be used.

We should take some time. We, in the short term as possible, will present our means even before the Constitutional Court, but also in fair courts”, Sylejman stressed.

The reason for the presumption of the complaint is also in the Constitutional Court, according to him, due to the principle of depletion of legal means, because the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council decision is an administrative act. The case could then be sent to the Constitutional Court.

Radio Free Europe has made attempts to contact over the phone even with KKP's nominee for State Chief Prosecutor Blerim Isufajn, but he has not been accessible.

Miftarian: Processing That Made Bad Tastes and Disbelief

To the candidate selection procedure for the chief state prosecutor, non-governmental organisations that oversee the work of Kosovo's prosecutorial system, the Kosovo Institute for Justice, the Group for Jury and Political Studies, as well as the “Movement chatt”.

Criticism to this process has also voiced ambassadors of the United States and Germany in Kosovo, as well as European Union officials.

Even the chief of the EU Office in Pristina, Thomas Szunyog, said the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council (KPK) has not respected the rules of this process being fair and transparent.

“back and disappointed with the KPK's actions”, Szunyog said through a Twitter response.

German Ambassador to Pristina Jorn Rohde also expressed disappointment at the KKP's decision, saying this is not the mode of “duhur to move forward”.

KKP: The perfectly legitimate process

Free Europe Radio has been addressed to the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council's evaluation panel leader, Jeanish Maloku, to comment on criticism over the process of candidate for the chief state prosecutor.

But he's responded via phone mail saying “is busy in a” meeting.

Free Europe Radio has been addressed to the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council with the question of how it comments on the criticism addressed by civil society organisations, but also by EU officials and Kosovo partner states.

In a written response to Radio Free Europe, The KKP has not commented on these criticisms, but has said that according to this institution “this process is completely legitimate, because it has been conveyed to targets, transparency, inclusion and is based on meritocracy”.

Should the process be repeated?

Ehat Miftaraj of the IKD says the three non-governmental organisations that have monitored this process have concluded in their published report that not only Blerim Isufaj, but not even four other candidates for Chief State Prosecutor, “have yielded no results to believe they deserve the position they have been competing for”.

“The whole process must be repeated, because on the basis of our report, which is public, neither of the five candidates has been able to gain public confidence that the same have fulfilled the achievements, whether in relation to written concept-document, or in relation to the oral interview, during this process”, Miftaraj estimated.

The chief state prosecutor is an important position in Kosovo's justice system. This post has a mandate of seven years.

After the mandate ends, no person who has held the post of chief state does enjoy the legal right to compete for the post again.

The current chief state prosecutor is Alexander Lumezi, whose mandate expires on April 21st.