The Group for Legal and Political Studies (GLPS) has called on the Assembly of Kosovo not to approve the Draft Law on the State Bureau for the Verification and Confiscation of Unjustified Assets in its second reading, but to return it to the Committee on Legislation for further review.
At a press conference, GLPS representatives Blerina Istrefi and Liridon Salihu expressed concerns about the parliamentary handling and content of the draft law, which is expected to be reviewed in its second reading on Thursday.
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Salihu said that the current version does not incorporate the findings of the Constitutional Court. According to him, its content does not differ substantially from the draft law that the court struck down in 2023.
Salihu: No substantial differences from the draft law struck down by the Constitutional Court
He said that the period between the two readings had been treated more as a formality than as a detailed review of the provisions. Salihu added that, according to GLPS’s assessment, the draft law still contains all the provisions that the Constitutional Court struck down in 2023 and that there are no substantial changes in its content compared with the previous version.
GLPS has identified several problematic issues in the draft law, including the retroactive application of the time limit, the Bureau’s functional independence, citizens’ legal certainty, the criminal aspect and the equality of the parties during the proceedings.
According to Salihu, one of the main concerns is the designation of February 17, 2008, as the starting date for the verification of assets. He said that the Constitutional Court had requested that the verification period not exceed ten years.
Salihu: Asset verification should be limited to no more than 10 years
Salihu said that GLPS is calling for the removal of this time limit and the implementation of the Constitutional Court’s recommendation that the period not exceed ten years from the law’s entry into force.
He also raised concerns about the Bureau’s functional independence and the risk that it could be turned into a political tool.
GLPS called on the Assembly not to pass the draft law in its second reading, but to send it back to the Committee on Legislation.
Salihu: The draft law should not be approved but reviewed again by the committee
Salihu called on the Assembly not to vote on the draft law on Thursday, when its approval in the second reading is on the agenda, but to return it to the Committee on Legislation to clarify the contentious issues that, according to him, undermine citizens’ legal certainty.
He added that GLPS had called on the authorized parties to submit the draft law to the Constitutional Court again for review if it is approved in its current form.
