Alliance Files Criminal Complaint with Special Prosecution Office over Caretaker Government Decisions

The Alliance has filed a criminal complaint with the Special Prosecution Office in Pristina over decisions made by the caretaker government, which it has described as unconstitutional.

Besnik Tahiri, the Alliance’s deputy leader, said that the 17 decisions concerning the appointment of commissions to recruit senior state officials violate the Law on Government.

According to Tahiri, the caretaker cabinet, led by caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti, has limited powers. He claimed that the decisions approved at the August 12 meeting undermine the legislation in force and the executive’s regulations, which define the scope of a caretaker government.

Tahiri explained that, according to the assessment of the Alliance and the lawyers representing it in this matter, the decisions taken on August 12 of this year contradict the law and the regulations governing the work of the government.

He stressed that a government is called a caretaker government precisely because it has not been approved by a vote and, for this reason, is not permitted to make decisions such as the 17 acts appointing commissions that will recruit senior state officials for government agencies.

According to him, the caretaker executive cannot violate a law it approved itself. Tahiri said that the limits on this government’s powers have been explicitly defined and claimed that, through these decisions, officials had breached their official duties and their positions as acting officeholders.

The Alliance’s deputy leader also raised the issue of the dual roles that, according to him, continue to be held by most members of the government cabinet, who are also elected members of parliament.

Tahiri argued that a lawmaker who has taken the oath in the Assembly cannot simultaneously hold a position in the executive branch, either as a minister or as an acting deputy minister.

He said that this issue was also included in the criminal complaint, since the law prohibits a sworn-in lawmaker from performing another executive duty. According to him, a person cannot take the oath as a lawmaker during a parliamentary session in the morning and then continue working in the government as an acting minister.

Tahiri described this as a serious legal violation, adding that such a situation has also been sanctioned through another decision by the Supreme Court. In conclusion, he called for an end to state capture and abuse of public office.

Civil society organizations have also expressed reservations about the decision-making of the caretaker government. In a press release published on August 13, the Group for Legal and Political Studies described the decisions as unlawful, arguing that most members of the caretaker government had taken the oath as members of the Assembly of Kosovo.

Kosovo’s snap parliamentary elections were held on June 7, while lawmakers took their oath on August 6. However, the Assembly has still not been constituted because its speaker and deputy speakers have not been elected.