The possible withdrawal by Kosovo’s Democratic Party (PDK) of its requests challenging the constitutionality of the Assembly’s constitution and the formation of the new government would not necessarily bring the cases before the Constitutional Court to an end, legal experts say.
Vullnet Bugaqku, a researcher at the Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI), told KosovaPress that the Constitutional Court may have the authority to continue reviewing a case even if the party that initially filed the request decides to withdraw it.
His comments came after PDK said it was prepared to withdraw its cases if the ruling Vetëvendosje Movement (LVV) publicly commits to supporting a bill aimed at amending Kosovo’s legislation governing the Specialist Chambers, following the convictions of four former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders.
“Withdrawal of the request does not prevent the Constitutional Court from issuing a decision on a case that has already been submitted,” Bugaqku said.
He argued that Kosovo’s legislation and the Court’s Rules of Procedure allow judges to continue proceedings even after an applicant withdraws a request.
Bugaqku said the Court could therefore still examine questions surrounding the constitution of the Assembly and the circumstances under which it was established.
Lawyer Ardian Bajraktari likewise argued that the issues raised by the PDK are matters of public interest and should be clarified by the Constitutional Court.
According to Bajraktari, even if the applicants withdraw their requests, the Court should address the legal consequences of exceeding the constitutional deadline for constituting the Assembly, as well as the question of whether the Assembly was properly constituted without one of its deputy speakers.
“These issues are extremely important in determining whether we have a constituted Assembly, given the current absence of one of the deputy speakers,” Bajraktari said.
He also highlighted the importance of determining whether the constitutional deadlines were respected, referring to previous Constitutional Court judgments interpreting Article 66, paragraph 1, of Kosovo’s Constitution.
Bajraktari said the Court should assess the matters from the perspective of the public interest in order to clarify the constitutional rules and prevent similar institutional disputes in the future.
PDK submitted two requests to the Constitutional Court on September 14 and 15, challenging the constitutionality of the Assembly’s constitution and the formation of the new government.
The Constitutional Court has since received comments from the parties involved in the cases. According to information provided to KosovaPress, submissions were filed by acting President Albulena Haxhiu in her capacity as Assembly speaker, the Vetëvendosje parliamentary group, the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) parliamentary group, Alliance for the Future of Kosovo MP Burim Ramadani, and the Multietnic Parliamentary Group.
Whether the Court will continue its review if PDK formally withdraws its requests remains a matter for the Court to determine under Kosovo’s constitutional framework and its procedural rules.
