Professor and war crimes expert Nevenka Tromp has said that not too much should be expected from the appeal against the first-instance verdict concerning the former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).
In an interview with Nacionale, she said that an appeal does not reopen the proceedings from the beginning and does not introduce new evidence.
“There should not be too much hope invested in the appeal,” Tromp said.
She said that the second instance examines whether the first-instance court correctly applied the law to the evidence presented.
“An appeal is never about new facts,” she said. “If there are new facts or evidence, they are dealt with in a retrial.”
According to Tromp, an appeal is a legal test of how the law was applied, rather than a new process for establishing facts.
Nacionale raised the question of how the trial panel disregarded testimony from top American officials at the time regarding the structure and functioning of the KLA.
“How can you lead a criminal plan if you do not effectively control the people on the ground?”
Tromp said such questions require careful legal, historical, and political analysis, particularly concerning the concept of a joint criminal enterprise.
Nacionale also asked how, despite the court stating that the KLA as a whole was not the subject of the case, local structures and commanders were addressed, while the four KLA leaders were convicted as representatives of the Political Directorate, Military Police, General Staff, and Intelligence Service of the KLA.
“Did the court not effectively criminalize the entire KLA, despite its denial?”
According to her, the key issue is whether there is evidence linking each of the individuals mentioned to the common purpose and to each criminal act.
“What is the evidence linking each of them, through their words and actions, to each offense that the court has established?” Tromp asked.
She said that without such an evidentiary link, there is a risk of generalizing criminality and implicating the entire KLA.
“The court is generalizing criminality and implicating the entire KLA,” she said, presenting this as a legal concern.
The interview also addressed publicly expressed expectations that Prime Minister Albin Kurti has spoken about correcting the verdict on appeal.
Tromp said she did not want to specifically interpret Kurti’s position because she did not know exactly what he meant.
However, she generally interpreted the language of politicians and diplomats who promise acquittals on appeal as an attempt to buy time.
“When politicians say this, I see it as buying time to calm this anger in Kosovo,” Tromp said.
According to her, the idea may be to calm the public while leaving the case open for years.
She said the appeal could last up to three years, or even longer in cases involving several defendants.
The central part of Tromp’s comparison concerned the ICTY sentences handed down to Serbian officials for crimes committed during the war in Kosovo.
She said the highest sentence for the Kosovo war at that tribunal was 22 years in prison for General Nebojša Pavković.
“The highest sentence at the ICTY for the war in Kosovo was 22 years for General Nebojša Pavković. Twenty-two years on appeal,” she said.
Tromp compared this with the 25-year sentences handed down at first instance to Hashim Thaçi and Jakup Krasniqi.
According to her, individuals from the Serbian side, which she described as the aggressor and perpetrating side, received lower sentences.
“The price for calming Serbia was completely, absolutely disproportionate,” Tromp said, linking this to the political context surrounding the creation of the court.
She also mentioned Milan Milutinović, the then-President of Serbia, who was acquitted by the ICTY.
According to Tromp, even the prosecution did not challenge Milutinović, and therefore he was removed from the judicial case.
Nacionale asked how the ICTY judgments could be reconciled with the judgment of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers concerning the same war and the so-called “Joint Criminal Enterprise.”
“You cannot reconcile them,” Tromp replied, saying that the differences between the two courts raise questions about legal certainty.
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