Kosovo Specialist Chambers Explained

Court Name:Kosovo Specialist Chambers
Native Name:Dhomat e Specializuara të Kosovës (Albanian)
Специјализована већа Косова (Serbian)
Established:2017
Location:The Hague, Netherlands
Authority:Constitution of Kosovo
Website:https://www.scp-ks.org/
Chiefjudgetitle:President
Chiefjudgename:Ekaterina Trendafilova
Termstart:12 January 2017
Chiefjudgetitle2:Prosecutor
Chiefjudgename2:Kimberly West
Termstart2:18 October 2023

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC) (Albanian: Dhomat e Specializuara të Kosovës; Serbian: Специјализована већа Косова|Specijalizovana veća Kosova) is a court of Kosovo, located in The Hague (Netherlands), hosting four Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor's Office, which may perform their activities either in the Netherlands or in Kosovo. The court is currently set up for delegating the trials of the crimes committed by members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), an ethnic-Albanian paramilitary organisation which sought the separation of Kosovo from Yugoslavia during the 1990s and the eventual creation of a Greater Albania.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] The alleged crimes concern the period 1998–2000, during and at the end of the Kosovo war and directed afterwards against "ethnic minorities and political opponents".[6] The court was formally established in 2016. It is separate from other Kosovar institutions, and independent. It is composed of a Specialist Prosecutor's Office and four Specialist Chambers, with themselves comprising Judges' Chambers and a Registry.

In December 2016 Ekaterina Trendafilova was elected first president.[7] Among the people charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity are Kosovo former president Hashim Thaçi and senior Kosovar politician Kadri Veseli.[8] On 15 September 2021 the court's first trial opened, the case against Salih Mustafa.[9]

Background

In 2010, Swiss politician Dick Marty authored a Council of Europe-report in which he noted war crimes had been committed by the KLA. Partly based on that report, the prosecutor of the Special Investigative Taskforce (SITF) of the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX Kosovo) concluded sufficient evidence existed for prosecution of "war crimes, crimes against humanity as well as certain crimes against Kosovan law". The court is located outside Kosovo on request of the prosecutor in order to provide adequate protection to witnesses.

The Kosovo authorities have agreed with the EU on modalities of dealing with those serious allegations. On 3 August 2015, the Kosovo Assembly adopted Article 162 of the Kosovo Constitution and the Law on Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor's Office, following the Exchange of Letters between the President of Kosovo and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy in 2014. The Specialist Chambers are attached to each level of the court system in Kosovo – Basic Court, Court of Appeals, Supreme Court and Constitutional Court. They will function according to relevant Kosovo laws as well as customary international law and international human rights law.

The EU has supported the process from the outset and together with other contributing countries (Canada, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United States of America) will financially support the work of the court.

The Specialist Chambers comprises two organs, the Chambers and the Registry. The Specialist Prosecutor's Office is an independent office for the investigation and prosecution of the crimes within the jurisdiction of the Specialist Chambers. The Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor's Office are staffed with international judges, prosecutors and officers and have a seat in The Hague, the Netherlands.

Legal basis and organisation

Unlike many other non-Dutch judicial institutions in The Hague, the Kosovo Relocated Specialist Judicial Institution isn't an international court, but a court constituted through Kosovan legislation. To provide a proper legal basis for the court, Kosovo's constitution was amended (amendment 24)[10] [11] and Law No.05/L-053 on specialist chambers and specialist prosecutor's office was approved.[12]

The court will be staffed by EU personnel and will have international judges only. The costs of the court will be borne by the EU[13] as part of its Common Foreign and Security Policy.[11] The four specialized chambers are all chambers of corresponding regular Kosovar institutions:

Judges

NameStateTerm beganTerm endedRef(s).
In office[14]
In office
In office
In office[15]
[16]
In office
In office
In office
In office
[17]
In office
In office
In office
In office[18]
In office
In office
In office
[19]
In office
[20]
[21]
In office
In office
In office
In office[22]
In office
In office

Specialist Prosecutor

NameStateTerm beganTerm endedRef(s).
[23]
In office[24]

Indicted persons

A total of 11 persons have been indicted in the Kosovo Specialist Chambers. Of those indicted, all have been arrested and transferred to the Chambers' custody. The cases against three people are in the pre-trial stage, four people are on trial, two case in the appeals stage, and two persons are serving sentences.

Notes and References

  1. Book: State-building in Kosovo. A plural policing perspective. Maklu. 5 February 2015. 53. 9789046607497.
  2. Book: Liberating Kosovo: Coercive Diplomacy and U. S. Intervention . Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. 2012. 69. 9780262305129.
  3. Book: Dictionary of Genocide . Greenwood Publishing Group. 2008. 249. 9780313346415.
  4. Web site: Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) . Encyclopædia Britannica. 14 September 2014.
  5. Albanian Insurgents Keep NATO Forces Busy . Time. 6 March 2001. Karon. Tony.
  6. Web site: Government of the Netherlands. Kosovo court to be established in The Hague. 15 January 2016. 16 January 2016.
  7. Web site: Kosovo Special Court Appoints First President. 14 December 2016.
  8. News: Marusic . Sinisa Jakov . North Macedonia Albanian Leader Testifies to Kosovo War Prosecutors . 3 September 2020 . Balkan Insight . 2 September 2020.
  9. News: Bami . Xhorxhina . First Trial of Kosovo Ex-Guerrilla Opens at Hague War Crimes Court . 15 September 2021 . Balkan Insight . 15 September 2021.
  10. Web site: Amendment of the constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, I. Amendment no. 24. Kosovo Assembly. 16 January 2016.
  11. Web site: Betreft Nederland gastland voor de Kosovo rechtbank. Government of the Netherlands. 15 January 2016. 16 January 2016. 26 March 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170326101543/https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/binaries/rijksoverheid/documenten/kamerstukken/2016/01/15/kamerbrief-over-nederland-gastland-voor-kosovo-rechtbank/kamerbrief-over-nederland-gastland-voor-kosovo-rechtbank.pdf. dead.
  12. Web site: Law No.05/L-053. Kosovo Assembly. 16 January 2016.
  13. News: Reuters. 15 January 2016. Special Kosovo war crimes court to be set up in The Hague.
  14. Web site: Appointment of Kosovo Specialist Chambers Judges . KSC . 2017-02-07 . 2023-12-21.
  15. Web site: Appointment of six new judges to the Roster . KSC . 2020-11-22 . 2023-12-21.
  16. Web site: Resignation from KSC Roster of Judge Michael Bohlander . KSC . 2022-08-31 . 2023-12-21.
  17. Web site: Judge Nicolas Guillou resigned . KSC . 2024-06-06 . 2024-06-07.
  18. Web site: Appointment of new Judge to the Roster . KSC . 2024-06-06 . 2024-06-07.
  19. Web site: Judge Andres Parmas resigned . KSC . 2020-03-10 . 2023-12-21.
  20. Web site: Judge Ann Power-Forde resigned . KSC . 2019-11-04 . 2023-12-21.
  21. Web site: Judge Keith Raynor resigned . KSC . 2020-03-20 . 2023-12-21.
  22. Web site: The President . KSC . 2023-12-21.
  23. Web site: Former Specialist Prosecutors . SPO . 2023-12-21.
  24. Web site: New Specialist Prosecutor signs solemn declaration . KSP . 2023-10-18 . 2023-12-21.
  25. Web site: Case Information Sheet: Specialist Prosecutor v. Salih Mustafa (Case No. KSC-BC-2020-05/ KSC-CA-2023-02) . KSC . 2023-03-28 . 2023-04-03.
  26. Web site: Appeals Panel pronounces judgment in Salih Mustafa case . KSC . 2023-12-14 . 2023-12-15.
  27. Web site: Supreme Court Panel decides on Mr Mustafa’s Request for Protection of Legality . KSC . 2024-07-30 . 2024-08-01.
  28. Web site: KSC-BC-2020-05: Specialist Prosecutor v. Salih Mustafa Public Redacted Version of 'Indictment', dated 19 June 2020 . KSC . 2020-10-02 . 2020-11-06.
  29. Web site: Pjetër Shala convicted of arbitrary detention, torture and murder . KSC . 2024-07-16 . 2024-07-16.
  30. Web site: KSC-BC-2020-04: Specialist Prosecutor v. Pjetёr Shala Further redacted Indictment . KSC . 2021-03-31 . 2021-04-16.
  31. Web site: Case Information Sheet: Specialist Prosecutor v. Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi (Case No. KSC-BC-2020-06) . KSC . 2023-04-03 . 2023-04-03.
  32. Web site: KSC-BC-2020-06: Specialist Prosecutor v. Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi Public Lesser Redacted Version of Amended Indictment . KSC . 2023-02-27 . 2023-03-01.
  33. Web site: Case Information Sheet: Specialist Prosecutor v. Hysni Gucati & Nasim Haradinaj (Case No. KSC-BC-2020-07) . KSC . 2023-02-27 . 2023-04-03.
  34. Web site: President Ekaterina Trendafilova grants Hysni Gucati modification of sentence . KSC . 2023-10-17 . 2023-10-20.
  35. Web site: KSC-BC-2020-07: Specialist Prosecutor v. Hysni Gucati and Nasim Haradinaj Lesser Redacted Indictment . KSC . 2021-10-04 . 2021-10-05.
  36. News: President Ekaterina Trendafilova grants Nasim Haradinaj modification of sentence . KSC . 2023-12-14 . 2023-12-15.
  37. Web site: Sabit Januzi and Ismet Bahtjari arrested and transferred to the KSC Detention Facilities in The Hague – initial appearances scheduled for 9 October . KSC . 2023-10-06 . 2023-10-07.
  38. Web site: KSC-BC-2023-10: Specialist Prosecutor v. Haxhi Shala, Sabit Januzi, and Ismet Bahtijari Public redacted version of 'Confirmed Amended Indictment' . KSC . 2024-07-10 . 2024-07-11.
  39. Web site: Haxhi Shala arrested on charges of witness intimidation and transferred to the KSC Detention Facilities in The Hague – Initial Appearance scheduled for 13 December 2023 . KSC . 2023-12-12 . 2023-12-13.