Bajraktari: The 72-hour deadline can be waived with a two-thirds vote, and a decision on the president by October 6 is crucial

The bill amending and supplementing the Law on the Specialist Chambers, approved last night by the Kosovo government, could pass through the Assembly and be adopted faster than the usual deadlines allow if there is political will to speed up the procedures.

Lawyer Ardian Bajraktari said this in a statement to KosovaPress, explaining the steps that must follow the government’s decision and the possibility of waiving the 72-hour interval between parliamentary readings.

Bajraktari said time is limited until October 6 because, if a president has not been elected by then, the Assembly will be dissolved. According to him, the procedure depends on political will. If that will exists, decisions can be made to waive the regular procedural deadlines, as has happened in other cases.

After the government’s opinion is obtained, the bill must go to the Committee on Legislation, which reviews it and then sends its recommendations to the plenary session for a decision.

The lawyer said that, without a special decision to waive the deadlines, the time remaining until October 6 is insufficient to complete the entire procedure and adopt the bill.

Bajraktari explained that the Committee on Legislation, as the committee responsible, must first be tasked with reviewing the bill. Depending on its decision, a recommendation for or against adoption is sent to the plenary session. He stressed that only shortening the deadlines would make it possible to complete the process in the time remaining until October 6; otherwise, the Assembly’s rules make that impossible.

Asked about the legal consequences if the bill were put to a vote on second reading before 72 hours had passed, Bajraktari said a decision to waive the procedural deadlines must be made first.

According to him, such a decision requires the votes of two-thirds of all lawmakers present and voting. If that decision is made, the procedure is considered to comply with the Rules of Procedure, particularly given the sensitivity of the issue.

Bajraktari emphasized that the 72-hour deadline can be waived only through an Assembly decision, approved in a plenary session, to depart from the relevant provisions of the Rules of Procedure.

If the Assembly decides to waive these deadlines, the procedure can continue without obstacles. Otherwise, the deadlines set out in the Rules of Procedure must be observed.

The lawyer added that the importance of the bill and the issues related to it could serve as grounds for justifying a decision to waive the usual procedural deadlines.