War crimes, Special Prosecution calls for legal changes, more international co-operation

Special Prosecutor, the Kosovo Lawyers' Oda and civil society estimated that, despite increasing the number of lawsuits and implementations in absentia, further legal reforms, professional training and more efficient mechanisms are needed for handling war crimes cases, reports EconomomaOnline, broadcasts Periscope.

The head of the War Crimes Department in the Special Prosecutor, Ilir Morina, said institutions have shown readiness to handle these cases, but face challenges exceeding the institutional will.

The lack of will is not, there is a willingness to work on addressing war crimes continuously, challenges are beyond will. We've done the maximum within capacity and opportunities, whether budgetary, institutional. The current legal framework is not enough, a legal framework which is appropriate for organised crime. We still have this challenge because we are working with old laws, whether former Yugoslavia's code of procedure, which is not adequate enough in war crimes cases. The institutional structure, when we have accepted this issue from EULEX, has had to build internal mechanisms so that we can be ready and face challenges”, he said.

Morina stressed that lack of judicial co-operation with Serbia and other states remains one of the biggest obstacles to the investigation of cases.

“The enormous challenge is the lack of international judicial co-operation, with particular emphasis on Serbia, but also with other countries, the former Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia. All evidence is found in Serbia or outside Kosovo's territory, but also the defendants. Lack of this co-operation is a major challenge. Now we have an opportunity to present charges in absence. Judgment in absentia is not for the first time. It's the best solution and we're trying to apply it. In the context of this, it is the lack of a particular database of war crimes cases. Identifying evidence is a big challenge. A lot of information exists, but they're scattered. Fear of not having information does not exist, but they should be collected and placed at a location in the service of Special Prosecutor”, he said.

Naim Rudari from the Kosovo Lawyers' Oda said that judgment in absentia is still a new institute in Kosovo and requires additional professional preparations.

So, as we know that even indiscretion is a new institute in us and there's still a need for preparation, training, application of this institution of high professionalism, especially when it comes to misjudgment, because Oda's still having trouble engaging lawyers. But like all of us, we should be professionals, do our job. We had to convince lawyers that they, in addition to protecting the rights and freedoms of the accused, eventually help the truth and justice. So, do you understand what I'm saying, although there are times when his position is misunderstood and thought otherwise, but it still helps justice, helps the court, and helps the prosecution do their job the best possible”, he said.

He added that specialised training is missing, especially from international experts.

On the other hand, we are in a lack of training, especially by international experts in this field, as we know in other cases, not just war crimes, there is difficulty in applying this institute, namely, to judging in absentia. But we believe that further training will be held for lawyers, because they are part of the justice system”, Rudari said.

Amer Alija from the Fund for Humanitarian Law in Kosovo said that handling war crimes remains one of the most important challenges of the justice system.

The “in Kosovo remains one of the most important and complex challenges of the justice system. Beyond judicial importance, these processes have a direct impact on ensuring justice for the victims of war, fighting and impunity, and strengthening citizens' trust in the institutions of justice. Over the past few years, we have seen significant developments in this area, including increasing the number of war crimes charges and implementation of trials in absentia”, he said. /Periscope