The Kosovo Institute for Justice (IKD) has reacted to the use of the term “Kosovo and Metohija” by the Office of the Specialist Prosecutor.
The institute’s researcher, Astrit Kolaj, stated that the use of this term by the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office (SPO) contradicts the country’s constitution and undermines Kosovo’s sovereignty. He emphasized that this issue requires an institutional response, adding that the SPO and the Special Court in general must be very careful with such terms.
“The Special Court was established by the institutions of Kosovo and operates under Kosovo’s laws. Therefore, now that such a term has been revealed and used during an interview with a person who was questioned by the Office of the Specialist Prosecutor, it is unacceptable for us at IKD. This term contradicts Kosovo’s constitution, even though it has been used in the past and clarified. We believe that the SPO and the Court as a whole should be very careful and respect Kosovo’s laws and constitution. Under no circumstances should they use terms that contradict the country’s constitution. Such a term is used by a country like Serbia, which does not recognize Kosovo as an independent state, thus implying the denial of sovereignty in this case,” Kolaj said for RTV21.
A day earlier, it was reported in the media that the Ombudsperson of the Specialist Chambers of Kosovo had received a complaint from an interviewee at the Special Court in The Hague. The complaint stated that during the interview, two SPO employees referred to Kosovo as “Kosovo and Metohija.”
According to the complaint filed with the Ombudsperson of the SPO, on November 11, 2022, the complainant was interviewed by two SPO employees, and at the beginning of the interview, one of the employees, while reading a document, referred to the Republic of Kosovo as “Kosovo and Metohija.”
The complainant also argues that the use of the term was not simply a linguistic mistake by the SPO representative, noting that the representative was reading from a document when this term was used.
