IKD: ZKA non-financial audit, interference in the independence of the justice system

The Kosovo Institute for Justice (IKD) has presented the report, titled “Unfinancial auditing by ZKA: Intervention on the Justice System”.

This presentation report contains analysis of the legality of the auditing of the National Audition Office (ZKA), made in the Pristina and Pec Constitutional Courts and Prosecutors, as well as in the Office for Protection and Relief of Victims (ZMNV), Pristina and Pec regional offices respectively.

In the published report, The IKD found that this audit represents overcoming the constitutional and legal competencies of the ZKA. The move, according to IKD Executive Director Ehat Miftaraj, is meaningless.

“ZKA is doing a good auditing job, but for us it has been meaningless that this office makes an amateur mistake, to interfere with the work of courts and prosecutors, in terms of a performance assessment or access to files which are confidential or accessible only to authorised parties”, Miftaraj said.

On the other hand, senior researcher of IKD, Astrit Kolaj, said that this audit of performance made by the ZKA is contrary to the competencies that the Constitution and Law have given to this institution.

“The National Audition Office contrary to its competencies provided by the Constitution, namely Article 136, point 1, where it says: The National Audition Office is defined as the highest institution of economic and financial control, and contrary to the Law regulating this institution, and being called to the Accountary audit, has audited the institutions responsible for handling domestic violence cases, including justice system institutions”, Kolaj said.

According to him, the assessment of the performance of judges and prosecutors is the competence of the Kosovo Judiciary and Prosecutorial Council, not the ZKA.

Furthermore, Kolay said that the IKD has found that, except for overstepping competencies, the ZKA has intervened in constitutional competencies for managing the justice system, such as KCK and KKP. Kolaj said this approach risks domestic violence. “SINCE the Criminal Procedure Code has had access to several cases of domestic violence, provided by the Office for Protection and Relief Victims. Contrary to these provisions, the ZKA sought access to the subject paperwork even by courts and prosecutors, who refused to do so”, Kolaj stressed.

In addition, according to him, it is important to mention that the ZKA, contrary to its mandate, has come up with consultations concerning the professional work of justice system institutions. Doing so, Kolaj said that by performing tasks that do not belong to him and are outside his constitutional and legal competencies, the MOK ill managed its resources.

“The use of ZKA resources in other objectives, as in concrete case, the professional assessment of institutional action in terms of dealing with domestic violence cases, represents resource use for tasks that do not belong to this institution”, Kolaj added.

Also, he said IKD research found that all officials who audited professional legal work were economists.

At the end of the report's presentation, Kolay said the ZKA has been able to metarely audit a financial segment that is directly related to cases of domestic violence, and which would be in the domain of its competencies, it has only generally done so.

The ZKA has been recommended that it not conduct audits outside its constitutional and legal competencies and suffice with regular financial auditing of justice system institutions by failing to be released in professional assessment of the work of judges and prosecutors. Likewise, the Courts and Prosecutors have been recommended not to allow the Black to access the file.

While, the Office for Protection and Help of Victims is recommended to respect the law and protect the privacy of the files, offering no access to the SKA in its working material files. Likewise, a recommendation has been made for donors not to support projects that interfere with judicial independence.

This activity has been implemented in the framework of “Java Against Corruption 2023”, which is organised by the Civil Society Organisation Coalition with the motto “Bash against corruption”.