KDI criticizes Legislation Committee’s handling of justice reform bills

The Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI) has criticized the way the Legislation Committee began reviewing and voting in principle on a package of draft laws for justice reform, saying that provisions of the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure were violated.

According to KDI, the meeting was not announced within the required timeframe, and lawmakers received the documents in the legislative package only the night before they were due to discuss them.

The institute cited Article 34, paragraph 4, of the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure, which states that, except in special cases, a committee meeting must be called at least three working days before it takes place.

“In this case, lawmakers received the package of draft laws and hundreds of pages of accompanying materials last night, and were invited to discuss and vote on them in principle today,” KDI said.

The organization said no explanation had been given in advance for following such an expedited procedure.

KDI also cited Article 74, paragraph 1, of the Rules of Procedure, which stipulates that the first reading of a draft law in a plenary session may take place only after two weeks have passed since it was distributed to lawmakers.

KDI said this period would have given the committee enough time to review the package properly and allowed lawmakers to familiarize themselves fully with the materials.

The institute also criticized the absence of the minister responsible during the review of the draft laws.

“The draft laws were also voted on without being presented by the minister responsible. Although this is a matter of parliamentary practice rather than a procedural obligation, for such an important justice reform package, the minister should have been present to present the proposals and answer any questions from lawmakers,” KDI said in its statement.

According to the institute, the draft laws form a package of particular importance for increasing integrity, improving performance and strengthening accountability in the justice system.

For this reason, KDI called for the review process to continue without haste and in compliance with all parliamentary rules.

The institute urged the Legislation Committee to follow the relevant procedures in the next stages of reviewing the package and ensure the involvement of relevant stakeholders, bearing in mind its responsibility to uphold the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure.