KKP's capture by Kurti Government, KDI says in front of Albulen Hadziu: KKP get 7 members, non-prosecutor constitutional violations

Justice Minister Albulen Haxhiu and KKP official Bahri Hyseni attended this meeting, KDI has come up with six recommendations concerning the number of members of the Prosecutorial Council, the election of non-profession members and the appointment of Kosovo's president to have between 60 and 90 days for the decree of the state's chief prosecutor.

To help quality discussions, KDI for members of the processing group has prepared a brief analysis in which the main positions are listed, some of which are:

• KKPK compounded to have 7 members
• Maintaining balance among prosecutor and non-professional members at KKP
• Proposal that the ombudsman chooses unprofessional members is unconstitutional
• Civil society representative to be at KKP active member of civil society organisations
• Set deadlines on when to decree the candidate for the chief state prosecutor, for 60 to 90 days.

Unlike the ruling party Vetevandosje Movement, the government of Kosovo has voted and sent the draft bill to the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council to the Assembly.

As such, the bill was challenged by various organisations and civil society, where power had been hinted by this bill to try to capture this entity of justice.

What does the KKP bill contain?

The bill for the Prosecutorial Council says that the purpose of this law is to change and fulfill the Law for the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council through the change of Council composition, conditions and procedure for selecting its members, and setting provisions for Council quoum and preventing conflict of interest.

Under this bill, it is designed to change the way the Prosecutorial Council functions, but also the composition of this council.

Article 6 says Council members are chief state prosecutor under official office, three prosecutorial members elected by the prosecutorial system, a prosecutor elected by the ranks of the Prosecutors of Special Appeals or Prosecutors, two prosecutors elected by the ranks of the key prosecutors, and three non-prosecuted members, elected by the Parliament, from whom one is elected on the basis of two nominations accepted by the Ombudsman for representatives of the members of civil society organisations, in accordance with legal conditions.

And according to Article 21, The KKP by 2026 is added to eight members of non-prosecuted prosecutors from the Parliament, except for those who are members at the moment of entry into force of this Law, “from eight non-professional members, two of them are elected on the basis of four nominations accepted by the Ombudsman for representatives from the members of civil society organisations, while a position reserved for university professors of justice” is said in the draft law.

However, this solution was not supported by the Venice Commission, but it was not in the Strategy for Sundition of Law, which the government had approved on August 11, 2021.

“The KKP would become too large for more than 20 members, in proportion to the small number of prosecutors in Kosovo. This solution would certainly be very expensive... ” said in the Venice Commission report.

According to non-governmental organisations IKD and FOL, with the composition of 19 KPK members, where eight of them will be not prosecutors extremely endangered politicalisation of the Council, including the risk of total blocking decision-making, because if all non-prosecutors are elected then the corum will be formed with 12 KKP members, which in any case would create an addiction by the ruling majority.

“Not to come to a blockade in decision-making, where no group's narrow interests would prevail, in second opinion, the Venice Commission had recommended that the Kosovo lawmaker, in co-ordination with other partners, determine specific parameters of anti-blocking mechanisms, that the KKP could make decisions even when prosecutors and non-profesive members could not reach compromise”, it said in response.

But according to them, in concrete cases this Venice recommendation has not been addressed by the Justice Ministry nor in the composition of the 19 members, even when the KKP will remain with 7 members after 2026.

“This way, the Government-endorsed KPK Bill, is not in line with the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, the Strategy for Rule of Law and Opinions of the Venice Commission”. The ♪7 response of these NGOs was said to be.