The Supreme Court of Kosovo has approved the lawsuit filed by the Kosovo Institute of Justice (IKD) against the Independent Media Commission (KPM), declaring unlawful and annulling the amendment to the Rules of Procedure of the KPM.
“It is DECLARED unlawful and ANNULLED, paragraph 2 of Article 3 of the Rules of Procedure of the Independent Media Commission (KPM-2025/01), adopted in the meeting held on January 17, 2025,” reads the ruling issued on June 10, 2025, as reported by “Betimi për Drejtësi.”
According to the Supreme Court, once this verdict becomes final, case file PA.6/2025 and all its related documents will be referred back to the first instance court to decide on the legality of the decision to elect the new KPM Chairperson made on January 17, 2025, which is under legal dispute.
“This judgment becomes final immediately after its content and reasoning are communicated to the parties, and the defendant, the Independent Media Commission (KPM), headquartered in Pristina, is ORDERED to publish it in the same manner as the regulation was adopted,” the ruling states.
The lawsuit was filed by IKD, represented by Executive Director Ehat Miftaraj, on January 29, 2025, contesting the amendment of the KPM’s Rules of Procedure and the election of the new chairperson.
IKD requested the annulment of paragraph 2 of Article 3 of the amended Rules, which was added during the KPM’s meeting on January 17, 2025. This paragraph allowed the election of a new chairperson while the current chairperson, whose term expired on January 21, 2025, was still in office.
The contested paragraph stated:
“By exception from paragraph 1 of this article, the election of the Chairperson or Deputy Chairperson may be conducted within one (1) month prior to the expiry of their mandate, particularly to ensure the KPM is not left without leadership in the event of a quorum loss.”
IKD argued that this provision was unlawful, arbitrarily introduced, and in violation of legal procedures. It further claimed that the illegal amendment resulted in the unlawful election of the new KPM chairperson.
IKD also pointed to violations of Law No. 04/L-44 on the Independent Media Commission, specifically Article 8, which mandates public consultations when adopting sub-legal acts. The law requires a minimum 15-working-day public comment period for draft regulations—something that was ignored, as the amendment was proposed and adopted on the same day without any consultation.
Furthermore, IKD emphasized that the law only allows the chairperson to be elected after the previous term ends. Article 15, paragraph 11 of the Law on KPM explicitly states that the election must occur in the first meeting following a vacancy, and only with a two-thirds presence of KPM members. This applies every time a new chairperson is to be elected—not just the first time the institution is founded.
Hence, IKD asserts that the amendment and subsequent election were both procedurally and materially illegal. The adopted regulation created an unlawful decision, and the entire process lacked transparency and legality.
Despite the adoption of this unlawful regulation and the election of a new chairperson, IKD emphasized that KPM remains non-functional. Separately, the Chief Prosecutor of the Basic Prosecution in Pristina, Zejnullah Gashi, confirmed on January 20, 2025, that a prosecutor was engaged regarding the developments in the January 17 KPM meeting.
