The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Kosovo has delivered a landmark ruling in case KO84/25, dealing a major legal blow to the Municipality of Graçanica by validating the central government’s right to expropriate municipal land for national social infrastructure.
In its verdict published on Tuesday afternoon, June 9, 2026, the Court ruled 6-to-1 that the Government’s decision to construct the “Kosovo Residential Center for Autism, Down Syndrome, and Disabilities” is fully compliant with the Constitution and does not violate local municipal autonomy.Shifting Control: The 99-Year Lease to “Jetimat e Ballkanit”
The high-stakes legal battle centered around Government Decision [No. 05/218], originally approved on August 28, 2024. The executive order greenlit the transfer of several strategic land parcels in the municipality of Graçanica into the ownership of the Republic of Kosovo.
The state plans to lease this land out for 99 years to the prominent regional charity “Jetimat e Ballkanit” (Orphans of the Balkans), led by humanitarian Halil Kastrati, to build and manage a state-of-the-art residential and therapeutic complex for vulnerable children and adults.
[The Graçanica Land Dispute Legal Timeline]
• Aug 28, 2024: Kurti's government passes Decision 05/218 to seize parcels for the center.
• Early 2025: Graçanica Municipality files constitutional appeal KO84/25, claiming overreach.
• Jul 31, 2025: Court issues a temporary injunction, freezing all construction on the site.
• Oct 2025 / Jan 2026: The court injunction is continuously extended as judges deliberate.
• June 9, 2026: Constitutional Court dissolves all past injunctions, rendering a final verdict.
Local Autonomy vs. Compelling Public Interest
The Municipality of Graçanica aggressively fought the land transfer, presenting a multi-layered legal defense before the high court. Local authorities argued that the central government acted unilaterally without local public consultation, directly infringing upon municipal competencies, public property rights, and local economic development plans. They also raised flags regarding environmental impact assessments and bypassed municipal urban planning codes.
However, the Constitutional Court systematically dismantled the municipality’s arguments, establishing a key legal precedent regarding the boundaries of local governance in Kosovo:
- Non-Absolute Competencies: The Court clarified that while local self-government is constitutionally protected, municipal powers are not absolute and must always bend to broader constitutional laws.
- The Public Property Law: Under current statutory frameworks, overriding priority is granted to state-backed projects that serve an indisputable, nationwide public interest—particularly when dealing with highly vulnerable social categories.
- The Failure of Alternatives: The judges noted that during hearings, Graçanica did not deny the social necessity of an autism center, yet the municipality’s own proposed alternative local projects for those specific parcels had sat completely unexecuted for years.
┌────────────────────────────────┐
│ CONSTITUTIONAL BALANCING │
└───────────────┬────────────────┘
│
┌────────────────────────┴────────────────────────┐
▼ MUNICIPAL CLAIM ▼ COURT VERDICT
┌─────────────────────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│ "Central government bypassed │ │ "Local autonomy is not absolute.│
│ local consultation and seized │ ─── Legal Review ───► │ The Law on Public Property │
│ municipal public land without │ │ prioritizes nationwide welfare │
│ proper municipal consent." │ │ over municipal gridlock." │
└─────────────────────────────────┘ └─────────────────────────────────┘
With the immediate dissolution of the long-standing judicial injunctions that had frozen the site since July 2025, the Ministry of Environment, Spatial Planning, and Infrastructure alongside “Jetimat e Ballkanit” are now legally cleared to break ground on the Graçanica complex. The project is expected to become one of the largest specialized care facilities for developmental disabilities in the Western Balkans.
