Why all this noise about the Law for the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council?

Reforms at the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council (KPK) are necessary for this, the executive agreeing, the Venice Commission, civil society, and even readiness has expressed KPK itself.

But about living this process, a rift has been created for nearly two years.

The Prosecutorial Council and its Role

KKP is home to Kosovo prosecutors. It is an independent body, with clear competencies in organising the prosecutorial system in Kosovo: it conducts all procedures naming candidates for prosecutors, makes their performance assessment and examines disciplinary measures, among other things.

On July 11th, 2024, Kosovo's Assembly approved changes to implement the new KKP law. The law was voted in a simple majority, in the absence of opposition parties.

On 15 July, the KKP criticised the law, arguing that, with such action, power aims to block and make the prosecutorial system dysfunctional, as well as intervene in the entire justice system.

The next day, the Justice Ministry (MD) said the KPK's reaction was continuation “approach destructive, preventing actions and continuing blocking trends”.

On the 18 July afternoon, the opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo submitted the Law approved to the Constitutional Court.

Members of civil society view these clashes as another episode of ill-communication between the two sides, and estimate that the ongoing public criticism of MD's has affected them.

The Road to Adoption

With the arrival of the ruling Vetevendosje Movement in 2021, The MD pledged reforms in the judicial system. The changes to the KKP found it reasonable to balance its members.

Even the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe's advisory body, estimated that “any state should find the formula to create a phytomical publicist council”.

Currently, the KKP consists of 13 members: 10 prosecutors and three non-professional members.

In the course of the amendments, an increase in the number of members in 19 members of the ombudsman was proposed in the appointment of nonprofessional members, cutting the mandate of current members, and strengthening the role of non-professional members to give up some decision-making capacity.

This was seen as the tendency of the power to politicise the system, while almost all points conflicted with two opinions of the Venice Commission, published in 2022 and in 2023.

Opposition MPs sent the draft KPK bill to the Constitutional Court, which also assessed that a considerable part of the changes were not in line with the Constitution.

What does the adopted new law foresee?

Following the changes, the new law envisions KPK being composed of seven members chief prosecutor, under official office, three prosecutors and three non-prosecutor members with a five-year mandate.

The other difference is that non-professional members will no longer be proposed by civil society or specific institutions, but public competition from the Kosovo Assembly will be opened.

Later, potential candidates will be assessed by an independent commission before they can be voted into the Kosovo Assembly, where their names will be adopted in a simple majority.

Most of these provisions will take effect in January 2026, after some of the current KPK members were expired.

Volnet Bugakku, senior researcher at the Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI), tells Radio Free Europe that he believes most Venice Commission recommendations are taken into account, just as the Constitutional decision.

He considers the involvement of what he calls a deadlock mechanism important.

“When non-prosecutor members or other members of the KKP can deliberately sabotage meetings, unless disciplinary measures should be taken against them, the Venice Commission has seen it become a unlocking mechanism, so that the quorum is not by five, but with a simple majority of votes”.

This point, The KKP interprets it differently. Why?

Conspiracy for Quorum

Insisting that quorum can only be reached with five members, KPC leader Ardian Hajdaraj tells Radio Free Europe that decision-making and quorum should not depend on non-professional members, so he has demanded that five prosecutors and two non-professional members be composed.

The new law has proposed that KPK control take place through elected persons from the” political bodies, Hajdaraj claims, referring to nonprosecutor members.

But, according to the law, in cases of the continued non-participation of some members, the quorum can be formed with at least four KKP members, and they can make decisions. It mentions that KPK's decisions are made in a simple majority of votes, unless otherwise provided by law.

Bugaq, who has participated in working groups for the law, estimates that the five-member quorum is binding only on specific cases, such as appointing the candidate for chief state prosecutor or other major decisions.

Other Reactions for the Law

The chief of the European Union Office (BE) in Kosovo, Thomas Szunyog, has said the Parliament has failed to introduce all recommendations to make a good law for the KKP.

Meanwhile, the US ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Havenier, has said he has talked to several power officials about this law, and has ordered them to make sure every time the adopted legislation is in line with European norms. /Radio Europe Free