Academic Arsim Bajrami has called for the immediate establishment of a state commission of legal specialists. Under his proposal, the commission would examine the first-instance judgment concerning the former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) at the Specialist Chambers in The Hague and provide the defense teams with additional expertise during the appeals process.
Bajrami, who made the initiative public on his Facebook profile, links it to the need to bring together domestic legal expertise and coordinate the actions of the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo. He believes the next stage of the proceedings requires a focus on legal arguments, the examination of evidence and the identification of possible substantive or procedural violations.
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He envisions the commission as a professional, pluralistic body free from party influence, comprising judges and former judges, prosecutors, criminal defense lawyers, professors of criminal law and specialists in international criminal law.
Under the proposed mandate, the experts would conduct a comprehensive legal review of the judgment. They would assess how the evidence was handled and weighed, the question of individual criminal responsibility, and any possible inconsistencies between witness testimony and the trial panel’s conclusions.
According to Bajrami, the result should be a comprehensive legal document that the defense teams could use as supplementary expertise when preparing their appeals.
Bajrami describes the next stage as entirely legal. For that reason, he calls for the defense of the accused to be built on concrete evidence, professional legal arguments and the standards of international criminal law.
The commission’s work, however, must not delay the defense teams. He suggests that both efforts proceed at the same time, without waiting for the expert review to be completed or jeopardizing procedural appeal deadlines.
In the document he published, Bajrami lists the areas he believes require attention on appeal: the determination of the facts, individual criminal responsibility, witness credibility and the historical circumstances of the war in Kosovo. His proposed analysis also covers the KLA’s organization and command structure, as well as claims that a criminal plan or intent existed.
Another priority is identifying additional witnesses and evidence that could be presented in the appeals proceedings. In his view, the defense’s evidentiary case should be expanded, particularly through witnesses with direct knowledge of specific events, locations and organizational structures.
The proposal also calls for independent international monitoring of the application of fair-trial standards at the Specialist Chambers. Bajrami seeks the involvement of international professional organizations and attention to the European Convention on Human Rights, the presumption of innocence, equality of arms and the right to an effective defense.
On the diplomatic front, he proposes that Kosovo’s highest institutions, including the President, the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, coordinate contacts with donor countries of the Specialist Chambers and countries friendly to Kosovo. The aim would be to secure support for independent monitoring and international legal expertise.
As a case worth studying, Bajrami singles out Croatia and Generals Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markač. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia initially convicted them at first instance, but the Appeals Chamber acquitted them on November 16, 2012.
According to Bajrami, a study of that case should focus on the standards for assessing evidence, individual criminal responsibility and how the Appeals Chamber reviewed the first-instance findings.
At the end of the document, Bajrami sets out eight concrete measures. They include establishing the state commission, preparing the legal analysis, identifying additional witnesses and evidence, involving international experts, conducting independent monitoring and mobilizing Kosovo’s diplomacy.
In his view, the historical truth should serve to defend the KLA’s war, while the innocence of the accused should be supported by evidence and the standards of criminal law.
Bajrami urges Kosovo’s institutions not to delay: domestic expertise and institutional coordination, he says, must be put to work immediately. At the same time, he stresses that the defense teams must remain independent in their professional work and meet the appeal deadlines.
