Gruda explains PDK draft law on the Specialist Chambers: appeal in The Hague, Supreme Court in Kosovo

PDK MP Përparim Gruda has provided details on the draft law proposed by his party concerning the Specialist Chambers.

According to him, the appeal of former KLA leaders will be heard in The Hague, while if after the conclusion of the appeal the verdict remains a conviction, the case will be sent for review to the Supreme Court of Kosovo.

Gruda stated that the current appeals process against Thaçi and the others may last a year and a half, two years or even longer, depending on the length of the procedure. He added that, in the event of a retrial, the case would again return to Kosovo.

He clarified that the second-instance procedure will take place at the Specialist Chambers. If a guilty verdict is confirmed there and the case continues to the supreme instance, the review will not be held at the Supreme Court in The Hague, but at the Supreme Court of Kosovo in Pristina.

Holding the appeal in The Hague, according to Gruda, is also linked to the defense’s expectations about the outcome of this stage of the process.

He said that the lawyers have already seen the judgment, although the public has no access to it, and that they may have identified extremely scandalous violations, which they believe could lead to the judgment being overturned on appeal.

Gruda also mentioned international oversight as another element, as well as control through the Assembly of Kosovo over the work of the Specialist Chambers.

According to him, with the entry into force of the law, legal consequences would arise immediately, giving the Assembly of Kosovo the opportunity to engage international companies, renowned universities and institutes to monitor the work of the Specialist Chambers at the second instance.

If the law were to be adopted during the second-instance process, the appeals process would be continuously monitored by institutes, universities, organizations and bodies established by the Assembly. Gruda stated that everything would be transparent, because transparency, according to him, would also guarantee justice.