Kosovo’s President Justina Shiroka-Pula has returned amendments to the Law on the Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office to the Assembly for reconsideration, reopening the political and institutional debate over the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague.
The decision followed the Assembly’s approval of the proposed amendments and came after a request from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), which had supported the legislative initiative.
The return of the law has raised questions about how parliament can proceed and whether the proposed changes can be reconsidered within the existing legislative process.
Adnan Rrustemi, an MP from the Vetëvendosje Movement, told Front Online that the president’s decision amounted to a refusal to promulgate the legislation. He said there were only two procedural options available.
“Returning a law approved by the Assembly by the president is a refusal to implement it. Procedurally, there are only two options: either the same law is returned without any changes and then enters into force despite the president’s will, or a new legislative initiative must be launched,” Rrustemi said.
He expressed hope that PDK, as the sponsor of the amendments, would take the necessary steps as soon as possible.
Rrustemi described the president’s reasoning as general and suggested that the return may have followed a request from the law’s sponsor. He added that some MPs were prepared to contribute to the process, although he saw limited room for further amendments at this stage.
PDK says it wants stronger legal safeguards, not repeal
PDK MP Ariana Musliu-Shoshi told Front Online that her party had not sought to abolish the law but wanted it reconsidered to strengthen its legal foundations.
“First, I want to make clear that PDK has not requested the repeal of the law, but its reconsideration in order to strengthen it legally. Our goal remains unchanged: protecting the rights of Kosovo Liberation Army veterans and ensuring a fair judicial process,” she said.
Musliu-Shoshi said PDK expected the responsible parliamentary committee to examine professional recommendations submitted during the final stage of the law’s approval, which she said had not been addressed at the time.
She added that several possible legal solutions were currently being examined and that it would be premature to disclose specific amendments before an agreement had been reached.
Addressing MPs who oppose the law’s return to parliament, Musliu-Shoshi stressed that the legislation had been approved by the Assembly as a whole, not by PDK alone.
“Responsibility for completing this process is shared,” she said, calling for political willingness and institutional responsibility rather than party-related obstacles.
She emphasized that PDK was concerned not simply with securing another parliamentary vote, but with ensuring that the law was legally sound, enforceable and capable of serving the interests of former KLA members.
“The KLA and the protection of veterans’ rights must not become hostages to political calculations,” Musliu-Shoshi said.
The dispute comes amid continued debate in Kosovo over the mandate and operation of the Specialist Chambers, which were established to investigate and prosecute crimes allegedly committed during and after the 1998–1999 war.
The next steps will depend on the Assembly’s response to the president’s decision and on whether political parties can agree on a procedural and legal path forward.
