Kosovo still has no chief prosecutor, é Miftaraj, says “KKP can continue indefinitely with violation of constitutional obligation without consequences”

Kosovo Institute for Justice Director (IKD), Ehat Miftaraj, has said that despite numerous demands, both inside and abroad, the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council (KPK) is not expressing political will to open the competition for the chief state prosecutor.

The biggest disaster, as Miftaraj has said in an interview for Online Economics, is that this situation can continue for years, because all competencies are available to the KKP itself, which has not even begun with the first procedures for selecting the Deyre Prosecutor.

He has stressed that Kosovo's laws grant such great independence to the KKP, “which has decided not to be accountable either to the Constitution or to the law, nor to the public”, so the Council can continue indefinitely with violation of this constitutional and legal obligation without consequences.

Miftaraj has said it is very important to prove the integrity of this institution and its will to be fulfilled with a person who has all the competencies, as the Constitution predicts.

Kosovo's “Institute for Justice has stated at least in the last year that KPK after turning the process to zero would have to start immediately with the process of completing internal rules and announcing the competition for the chief state prosecutor. This demand is also made in the latest progress report on Kosovo, and there have been requests from all relevant international actors like the EU embassies and offices that the KKP proceed with the competition. Unfortunately, there is no political will on the part of the KKP for this process to continue further and we have come to a situation where we are with the chief prosecutor's lead for an extremely long time of”.

Miftaraj has added that it remains with the KKP in hand to change the sublegal acts for the contest's proclamation, since neither the President's Office has any competence for this process “returned to zero”.

The sooner this is done, it's better for the state, he stressed.

The President's Office for the process is now not even a competence in hand because the process is back to zero. So there is KPK left to change sublaw acts to announce the competition. When that will is missing from the KKP, then we can remain in this situation for more years”,

We understand that the chief state prosecutor is not that there are very large competencies in the Prosecutorial System. But for the state, for the Republic, it is important for institutions to prove the integrity of the KKP, their will for this position to be fulfilled with a person who has all the competencies and authorisations under the Constitution and the law. So the sooner this is done, it is better for the rule of law in Kosovo. Kosovo's laws give the KKP such great independence, which means they have decided not to be accountable either to the Constitution or to the law or to the public. Hence, they may continue indefinitely with violating this constitutional and legal obligation and without consequences. The very approach of the culture of impunity in this system has built a system that does not report to almost anyone and therefore remains in a situation that depends on them whether they want to fulfill this obligation or not”,

The lawyer Devdet Smakqi, who has said it is the first time from Kosovo's independence that the candidate proposed by the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council is not decreed for this position.

As Smakqi has said for Online Economy, this is a case of <x0 <x0)paprecedent” that seriously harms the Kosovo prosecutorial system.

He has added that the Chief State Prosecutor's Task Officer does not have full competencies, as the chief prosecutor would have.

The disaster is that for the first time, no Kosovo independence has been declared, and no president has refused to decree the candidate, which the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council, which is the constitutional body, is proposing. According to the Kosovo Constitution, the Law for the Prosecutorial Council and the Law for the State Prosecutor is preserved and guaranteed independence. It is an unprecedented case, and this in the eyes of internationals and monitors such as they are from the EU, by other international organisations is seen as a failure and weakening of the Kosovo prosecutorial system. Because we don't have full powers as with a task leader, as with a candidate he already proposed. KKP”

Smakqi has said there would be greater successes if it were not for this institutional crisis, as he has called it.

“Sic has also seen in this refusal Blerim Isufaj, as a candidate has resisted political pressure and has had many successes even in terms of the arrest of members of the Rajdocic gang, who are already expected to be brought up. All of this is like a president-elect candidate. You know the prime minister in the Kosovo Assembly has said that as long as I am prime minister, he will not be elected. This weakens the entire system of law and politics and is a disaster because there would be major successes if it wasn't for this institutional crisis”, the lawyer for EO said.