The Ombudsperson Institution and the Group for Legal and Political Studies held a discussion aimed at examining the impact of Administrative Instruction No. 03/2025 on the Unification of Court Fees on the realization of the right to access to justice.
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Ombudsperson Naim Qelaj explained that the institution’s opinion on the matter was prompted by public reactions and requests received from several civil society organizations.
He stressed that the state has the authority to impose court fees, but they must remain balanced and carefully assessed so that citizens do not encounter obstacles when seeking to exercise their right to access to justice.
Qelaj said: “The reason or fact that led us to issue such an opinion stems from the public reaction and the requests we have received from several civil society organizations, but also from the sensitivity of the issue of court fees, as an exclusive right of the state to impose them. However, this must always be balanced, proportionate and carefully analyzed, so that it does not affect or constitute an obstacle to access to justice.”
According to him, the opinion addresses an issue that goes beyond the effect of court fees, highlighting the relationship between the institutions’ powers to regulate the judicial system and the state’s obligation to ensure the protection of citizens’ rights.
He added that the state must guarantee genuine access to justice for every citizen: “This opinion essentially addresses an issue that goes beyond the impact of court fees. It addresses the relationship between the institutions’ authority to regulate the functioning of the judicial system and the state’s obligation to guarantee that every citizen has a genuine opportunity to seek protection of their rights.”
Meanwhile, Liridon Salihi, project manager at the Group for Legal and Political Studies, said that Administrative Instruction No. 03/2025 contains provisions that, in his view, have not been sufficiently justified, while the increase in fees could affect citizens’ ability to access justice.
At the roundtable organized by the Ombudsperson Institution and GLPS, Salihi said that the instruction, which will enter into force on January 1, 2026, provides for increases in court fees ranging from 20 to 600 percent.
He also announced that GLPS had prepared a draft analysis of court fees comparing practices in Kosovo with those in countries in the region and in the European Union.
According to Salihi, the analysis raises several dilemmas regarding the legal basis for setting the fees, their role in the budget of the Kosovo Judicial Council, the absence of a preliminary financial analysis and their impact on citizens.
Salihi questioned the legal basis for setting court fees: “As the first dilemma, we identified the legal basis. The Ombudsperson also mentioned it. Although the Law on the Kosovo Judicial Council gives the KJC the authority to unify court fees, should this in fact also be considered a right to determine both the imposition and the amount of fees for certain services provided by the judiciary?”
He also raised concerns about the absence of a financial analysis before the instruction was approved, stressing that some fees had increased significantly.
Speaking about the increase in court fees of up to 600 percent, Salihi said: “Let us not forget that under this administrative instruction, we have fees that have increased by between 20 and 600 percent. For example, in lawsuits concerning the legality of legal or subordinate legal acts, the fee was initially 50 euros, whereas now it is 250 euros. Or, for example, non-monetary claims in matters of intellectual property, which once cost 50 euros, now cost 350 euros.”
Salihi stressed that these increases had not been accompanied by a financial analysis to assess their impact on society.
He also questioned the justification for higher fees in Kosovo compared with neighboring countries, taking into account the level of gross domestic product and the average wage in the country.
Salihi asked: “Given that Kosovo has the lowest GDP and average wage among the six countries of the region, how can it be justified that our citizens are burdened with court fees that are higher than those paid by citizens of all neighboring countries?”
