Criticising the KKP Bill requires inclusion of Venice Commission recommendations prior to the adoption of the Assembly

Warnings and irregularities are being identified in the current draft of the bill for the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council. Without the inclusion of the findings of the Constitutional Court, the Venice Commission's opinion, and the recommendations of civil society, this legislative initiative is required not to move to the Kosovo Assembly.

Organisations monitoring the justice system say that reforms in the KKP cannot be done by bypassing these requirements. Meanwhile, at the March 7th session, the first reading vote of this bill will be in order of the day.

Senior researcher at the Kosovo Institute for Justice (IKD), Dreem Makshana, tells Kosovo that power is trying to pass this bill in principle without addressing Venice Commission recommendations.

“What's really trying to do is that it's trying to pass that bill as it has been with all those remarks, with all those criticisms and why the Venice Commission's recommendations are not addressed, it's trying to pass on in the first reading and then between the two readings to address the answers and remarks of the Venice Commission's opinion.

For us, it is wrong, because the Ministry of Justice, the Government has had to withdraw this bill, first address all remarks, criticisms, which have emerged from the Venice Commission's opinion and then submit the law including all changes in the opinion and decision of Constitutional Court”, Makshana claims.

In the wake of the Venice Commission's second opinion, Makshana adds it has been clear how to make reforms to the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council.

“Practa has shown that when the bills go, they go to first reading as they are, without ignoring the recommendations of the Venice Commission, in the end all the remarks and recommendations that have been issued are not taken into account. So you have a flawed law.

For this reason it is considered very important that the Ministry of Justice withdraw the bill and address all recommendations, then the law is sent as a whole and there are no amendments by this bill, but be voted in all of the recommendations that have emerged from the Venice Commission's opinion but also from the Constitutional Court's recommendation. But this has not been ignored by the Ministry of Justice and has continued to submit the law to the Kosovo Assembly”, he adds.

Even the researcher, Liridon Salihi of the Group for Juridical and Political Studies (GLPS), says this bill has shortcomings, without the exact address of the Venice Commission's opinion.

“Here comes up with the problem of increasing the number of KPK members, which presents a problem in itself, and it is also the issue of the ombudsman's involvement again in the selection of non-prosecutive KKP members. With the current status of this draft, we are not satisfied.

But despite the same has gone to the convent and if you go to the first reading of the assembly, then we suggest that these changes be made between the two readings so that they can be addressed in the best possible way all recommendations that have come from the Venice Commission even in two preliminary opinions but also in recent opinion, so that we can have a KPC reform”, he points out.

On the other hand, Viona Bunjaku from “Movement Fol” does not expect reforms in the KKP to be completed within this government mandate.

Taking into account that this reform in the Prosecutorial Council is a delayed reform, we believe that even in this mandate reform cannot be achieved in the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council. Because we are far behind in legal procedures required by law until the adoption of this law. We are at the end of this government's mandate and a promised reform at the beginning will not be achieved on this mandate.

And we expect too long for the KKP, normally to be reformed in a proper way, not as it started from the beginning by trying to politicise. So we believe that this reform will continue, but we have no hope that the KPK reform will be completed within this mandate of”, Bunjak concludes.

In recent opinion, the Venice Commission does not support the temporary increase in the number of KKP members. / KP/