The Kosovo Police have confirmed that former police officers from the Serbian community who voluntarily resigned from the force in northern Kosovo in November 2022 are not eligible to return to their previous positions under current regulations.
In a statement, the Kosovo Police Directorate said it has not received any official requests from former officers seeking reinstatement following their coordinated resignations nearly four years ago.
Citing the Administrative Instruction governing employment relations within the Kosovo Police, authorities said officers who voluntarily resign are not entitled to be reinstated.
“The Administrative Instruction clearly regulates employment relations within the Kosovo Police. An employee who resigns voluntarily does not have the right to return to the service,” the police said, adding that any future employment would require candidates to meet the standard recruitment criteria established under the applicable regulations.
Following the 2022 resignations, Kosovo Police launched five recruitment campaigns for new officers, three of which were reserved exclusively for members of non-majority communities assigned to the North Mitrovica Regional Police Directorate.
Police officials said the force currently has sufficient personnel to carry out its legal responsibilities throughout Kosovo, including in the northern region.
The issue of reinstatement has also emerged within Kosovo’s judiciary, where ten Serbian prosecutors, dozens of judges and administrative staff resigned alongside police officers during the institutional boycott organized by the Serbian List in November 2022.
Earlier this week, the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council (KPC) rejected requests submitted by former Serbian prosecutors and their support staff seeking to return to the prosecution system. Following the decision, Acting President Albulena Haxhiu signed decrees formally dismissing seven Serbian prosecutors who had submitted resignations in 2022.
Meanwhile, the Kosovo Judicial Council (KJC) has received several requests from former Serbian judges seeking to withdraw their resignations, although no official figure has been disclosed.
The issue prompted a heated debate during a KJC meeting on Friday, with council member Bashkim Hyseni describing requests to withdraw resignations after four years as “unusual and inconceivable” from both a legal and constitutional perspective.
Hyseni also questioned why the resignations had remained unresolved for four years, arguing that judicial decisions must be based solely on legal principles rather than political considerations. The meeting was later interrupted following a verbal dispute between council members.
The possible return of Serbian judges and prosecutors has also been the subject of public debate. During a conference in North Mitrovica earlier this month, some participants argued that their return would improve the justice system and encourage greater integration of the Serbian community.
Others, however, maintained that the matter falls exclusively within the jurisdiction of Kosovo’s judicial institutions and should not become part of the EU-facilitated dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia.
The coordinated resignations in November 2022 followed a decision by the Serbian List, backed by official positions from Belgrade, to withdraw Kosovo Serb representatives from Kosovo’s institutions in protest over the government’s vehicle registration policy and demands related to the establishment of the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities.
The resignations were triggered after senior Kosovo Police officer Nenad Gjurić was suspended for refusing to enforce measures against vehicles using license plates issued by Serbia.
