Kosovo still without new chief prosecutor

The state chief prosecutor's position for more than two years is continuing to be led by task officers. Urgent is considered opening the new competition for this position by the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council.

From this institution they claim they have not yet received an answer from the President's office after the return of the candidate name, Blerim Isufaj, though the latter in October last year had not decreed Isufaj as chief state prosecutor, with the reason that there have been several legal violations in the process of his election.

Kosova Prerss has asked the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council whether the new competition for the chief state's election is expected to open, but in response this issue is not mentioned at all.

According to Bedri Gashi, who exercises the position of leaders of the Public Communications Unit in the KKP, this justice institution has received no response from the presidency.

We announce that the Prosecutorial Council has received no response from the presidency and that we will keep you informed in real time for further steps”, he has told Kosovas.

But it is civil society organisations that are demanding new competitions and the process of appointment with integrity.

Kosovo Institute for Justice Director (IKD) Ehat Miftaraj said it is unfortunate how the Kosovo Prosecutorial System has so far made no action in the direction of electing the new prosecutor.

According to him, this non-action represents the message that the KKP is misusing its legal and constitutional independence.

“It is problematic for the fact that there is a serious lack of integrity, accountability and the Kosovo prosecutorial system, which unfortunately despite the fact that the process has now returned to zero, have taken no action to continue with the new process, respectively for meeting-the change of legal framework, the legal acts of the prosecutorial system and for announcing the contest... It represents the message that these independent institutions like KKP do not report and are not accountable to any other institution of power.

In some way they are misusing the independence offered by the Constitution and the law, the old avaz is continuing, where a group of people in the prosecutorial system continue their privileges, but that it's actually not that they offer any solution or that they prove the will to exercise competencies and responsibilities by law to strengthen rule of law in this country”, he stressed.

For the recognition of the justice system, Ehat Miftaraj, the KKP has an interest in this important position for justice institutions to keep with task officers.

“This Prosecutorial Council is interested in having a task leader and forcing him not to use his word, blackmailing him, and voting in the Council of a person who is temporarily and who at any moment can be changed by the Prosecutorial Council... it's unintelligible that the Kosovo Prosecutor's Council itself somehow violates the Constitution, violates the law and leaves the position of the head of state with a duty fraud for more than two years.

The leader of the KKP, if there were only a few integrity, if he was independent in exercising his functions, it would be the main thing for this process to continue. But, as the new leader seems to be within those KKP members, it belongs to a click that interests keep this status quo in the prosecutorial system and somehow enjoy the” privileges, Miftaraj said.

On the other hand, Levik Rashi of the Group for Jury and Political Studies is also asking the Prosecutorial Council for the selection of the State Chief Proposor to take priority.

Rashit points out that the selection process should start from the beginning.

“Process must start from the start again in choosing the new chief prosecutor and having the chief prosecutor with the regular mandate... The very fact that we don't have a regular process is the constitutional defect and a task seeker can do the job very well, and there may be high successes, but the very fact that it's not passed through such a procedure, has not gone through these filters, is also a big deal about the importance of this.

It is in the domain of the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council to act and it is strange that we do not have further actions to start with a new process which is necessary... . This process has to be much more priority than it is, and so we have a process at last regular”, Rashi stressed.

The Kosova Prees news agency regarding the position of chief state prosecutor, who has been led by taskeers since April 2022, has sent questions to the President's Office of Kosovo, but until the moment the writing was published, he has not accepted any answers.

Otherwise, in April 2022, Alexander Lumez has completed his mandate as chief State prosecutor, and from then on to this day, Besim Kelmendi. /kp/