Thaci's lawyer exposes the Special Court: They must render an account to Kosovo, not report to diplomats in secret

Luka Misetic, defence lawyer of former President Hashim Thaci at The Hague, has reacted to yesterday's reports of a meeting among Kosovo's Specialised Chambers leaders with diplomats of European Union countries held a few days ago in The Hague.

For this, Misetic has said that Kosovo's Specialised Chambers should render an account to Kosovo rather than act in secret.

“ @Specicial chambers are an institution of the Republic of Kosovo that gave no public account to anyone or any institution for their work, which may be considered a violation of Council of Europe (see below). National reported yesterday that the president and chief prosecutor of the KSC have met secretly with donor countries' diplomats to report to them, including discussions about @richardgrenelli's comments. Let me repeat: secretly”, he wrote on Twitter.

Thaci's lawyer, Luka Misetic, has further said that the “Law on Specialised Chambers, adopted by the Assembly of Kosovo, does not authorize the KSC to report to other states, much less to do so in secret. Unfortunately, the Law does not require that the KSC report to an institution in Kosovo, which constitutes a violation of Council of Europe norms”.

Misetic has shown that in Opinion No. 18 of the Council of Europe's Council of European Judges Consultative Council, published in 2015, states in paragraph 24 that the judiciary should be responsible for managing its own powers to the state and society in general”.

While, according to him, the 2014-15 European Judiciary Council Report says on page 11: “A judiciary that claims independence, but refuses to be responsible to society, will not enjoy the trust of society and will not achieve the independence for which it targets”.

Thaci's lawyer has said that the KSC is not responsible to Kosovo's “state powers”, nor is it accountable for its work on Kosovo society. On the contrary, it reports to secret meetings with donor countries, which are not transparent, are not open to the Kosovo public and are kept without authorization from Kosovo law”.

Misetic has called the KSC's move ironic, saying he violated the Council of Europe's norms of lack of accountability to Kosovo institutions.

“It is ironic that the KSC, an institution founded as a result of a Council of Europe report, violates Council of Europe's norms for the lack of accountability to Kosovo institutions or Kosovo society. This lack of accountability requires action by the KSC, Kosovo institutions and the Council of Europe”, he has shown in tweeted writing.