PDK lawmaker Përparim Gruda has said that the amendments to Kosovo’s Law on Specialist Chambers are in line with the country’s Constitution and its international obligations.
Gruda said the amendments do not alter the Constitution, arguing instead that the law establishes the limits of the jurisdiction of the Specialist Chambers Constitutional Chamber in The Hague.
“I am convinced that we will find a legal and institutional path to compel the Specialist Chambers to implement the law of the Republic of Kosovo. This will require determination as a state, as institutions and as a society,” Gruda said.
He referred to Constitutional Amendment No. 24, which provides that the organization, functioning and jurisdiction of the Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office are regulated by the Constitution and a specific law.
According to Gruda, the amendments do not remove the authority of the Constitutional Chamber in The Hague to review decisions, orders and judgments issued by the Specialist Chambers. Rather, he argued, they establish that constitutional review of the law itself falls under the jurisdiction of Kosovo’s Constitutional Court in Prishtina.
“This is the essential distinction,” Gruda said.
He acknowledged that the amendments could lead to a legal and institutional dispute between Kosovo’s institutions and the Specialist Chambers, but maintained that Kosovo’s institutions should defend and implement the law approved by the Assembly.
The amendments to the Law on Specialist Chambers were approved by the Kosovo Assembly following an extended political and institutional debate over the jurisdiction and functioning of the court.
Their compatibility with Kosovo’s Constitution and international obligations has been challenged by several actors, while Gruda and the PDK have maintained that the legislation does not violate those obligations.
