On Thursday, the Citizen Energy Center (CEC) in North Mitrovica hosted a conference titled “Judiciary in Northern Kosovo: Current Challenges and Prospects for Institutional Development,” organised by the Advocacy Center for Democratic Culture (ACDC). The event addressed the difficulties facing the justice system in the north, as well as the possibility of Serbian judges, prosecutors and administrative staff returning to judicial institutions. Participants presented differing views on the matter.
ACDC Executive Director Dushan Radaković said that negotiations have already opened the process for the return of members of the Serbian community to the justice system. He said he expects judges and prosecutors to begin work on September 1.
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Radaković: Serbian judges and prosecutors may return to the justice system on September 1
Radaković said media reports claiming that turnout in the elections had not reached 1.5% proved accurate, while judges and prosecutors from the Serbian community are currently absent from work. According to him, the process was postponed, and the summer period, when political activity is lower, was used for efforts to secure their return. He said the Judicial Council had been expected to attend the conference, but added that a serious meeting had been held, during which it was discussed that the return process had begun through negotiations. Radaković stressed that they do not wish to create additional pressure, as those involved are, in his words, under extraordinary pressure.
He said that recent meetings had resulted in an agreement that, once the court reopens and people return, no time should be spent on the manner and procedures of their return. According to him, there are security issues and problems that will be addressed during the process. Radaković said the participation of the president of the Judicial Council and its director had been promised for the next conference, which he hopes will be held in mid-September, when further steps and expectations will be explained.
Speaking in a personal capacity, Radaković said he expects people to return to the court on September 1. He also announced that yesterday, particularly its members, informed the Judicial Council of their desire to return and withdraw their resignations. Around 130 people submitted resignations on November 6, 2022, while a smaller number filed an official request. He cited the example of 24 judges who had been working, saying that only 16 of them could return.
Radaković warned that a lack of sufficient staff in the courts and prosecution offices could further hinder the functioning of the justice system. He announced that three people from the north had passed the bar examination.
The head of UNMIK’s Justice Section, Andrea Lako, assessed that holding the conference in Mitrovica was of particular importance. He said the topic is directly linked to the functioning of the justice system in northern Kosovo.
Lako: The return of Serbian judges and prosecutors would help restore normality in the north
Lako said he was pleased that the conference was being held in Mitrovica, which he described as the centre of this problem. He expressed hope for good news in the near future, citing positive indications regarding the return of judges, prosecutors and court staff. According to him, such a return would allow for the gradual restoration of normality.
He stressed that integration is not important only politically. According to Lako, the community needs to have its own judges and prosecutors close to it, so that access to justice can be ensured without obstacles.
Lawyer Shyqyri Syla said that the inclusion of Serbian judges and prosecutors in Kosovo’s justice system has gone through several stages. He assessed that their return would be important both for institutions and for the Serbian community in the north of the country.
Syla: Integration of judicial structures in the north made the justice system functional
Syla said that the functioning of the judiciary in northern Kosovo has been difficult, particularly after the war, when there were several phases of integration of Serbian judges and prosecutors. He said that after the declaration of independence, they left the institutions and other people were also expelled from the building, which posed a major challenge for the justice system.
According to him, there were major obstacles to the swift and fair functioning of judicial bodies for 10 years. In Vushtrri, he said, there were no working conditions, but over time an agreement was reached to implement the 2013/2016 agreement on the integration of judicial structures in the north.
He stressed that the process was not easy and that he had personally contacted and negotiated their return without the presence of international actors. Syla said he had held talks with the chief prosecutor at the time in the parallel prosecution office, if he was not mistaken, and had organised several meetings with the Prosecutorial Council and the former Chief State Prosecutor, Ismet Kabashi.
Syla assessed that their integration was somewhat easier and without conditions. He said this was a welcome process not only for politics, but also for the community itself, as Lako had stressed in his opening remarks. According to him, integration is not carried out for political reasons, but for the needs of communities and to ensure them better access to justice.
Gëzim Shala, a researcher at the Kosovo Law Institute (IKD), said that the representation of communities in justice institutions is a constitutional obligation. He described the return of Serbian judges, prosecutors and support staff as a continuation of the process begun with the 2017 integration.
Shala: Inclusion of communities in the justice system is a constitutional obligation, not a political issue
Shala said that, based on general principles, integration is a constitutional obligation. According to him, the representation of communities in institutions, including justice institutions, is required by the Constitution, and the aim is precisely to implement it. He stressed that communities are represented in the Assembly and in municipalities, and should therefore also be represented in the justice system.
According to Shala, the integration of the judiciary in 2017 was a major achievement because it made the courts functional and identified the cases and problems which, as lawyer Syla mentioned, had accumulated over the years. He said the situation gradually began to return to normal and access to justice took a different course, as the judiciary came to be seen as an institution that belongs to everyone, without divisions between communities.
He said that despite major doubts at the outset, the process functioned well for several years. Shala said that, unfortunately, a single case was used as justification for the resignation of all judges, prosecutors and support staff from the justice system. According to him, this represented a setback in the integration of the justice system.
Shala said that the fact that the Kosovo Judicial Council and the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council did not accept the resignations has kept open the possibility of Serbian judges, prosecutors and support staff returning to the justice system. He described this as an important step towards restoring citizens’ trust in justice institutions.
The discussion on justice in northern Kosovo did not focus solely on the return of Serbian judges, prosecutors and administrative staff. The conference also addressed the challenges faced by lawyers and parties in their dealings with justice institutions.
