Kosovo begins procedures for recruiting Serb prosecutors, four years after mass resignations

Authorities in Kosovo are preparing to open a new competition to fill vacant positions in the justice system in the north, nearly four years after dozens of judges, prosecutors, and administrative staff from the Serb community abandoned their duties.

The Kosovo Prosecutorial Council (KPC) has announced that it is preparing the announcement for the recruitment of prosecutors from the Serb minority. This move comes after acting President Albulena Haxhiu signed the decree formalizing the dismissal of seven Serb prosecutors, whose resignations date back to 2022.

The right to apply will be open to all persons who meet the criteria required by law, including former prosecutors whose request to return to work was previously rejected.

This move marks a new development in a file that remained unresolved for years, but it has also drawn criticism from the European Union and raised questions among legal experts as to whether the timing was appropriate and whether it will ease or complicate the reintegration of Serb jurists into the local judicial apparatus.

Background of the decree and opening the way for the competition

On July 21, acting President Albulena Haxhiu signed the decrees for the dismissal of seven Serb prosecutors who had collectively resigned at the end of 2022, along with many other Serb officials from Kosovo institutions.

Her decision came just one day after the KPC itself rejected the request of five prosecutors and 15 administrative employees of the Basic Prosecution in Mitrovica to withdraw their resignations.

The wave of resignations in November 2022 included judges and prosecutors and was part of a mass boycott of institutions in the four northern, Serb-majority municipalities: North Mitrovica, Leposavić, Zvečan, and Zubin Potok.

This action, prompted by the Serb List, the main party backed by Belgrade, was a reaction to the Kosovo Government’s plan to ban license plates issued by Serbia and convert them to RKS plates.

The European Union reacted by assessing that Ms. Haxhiu’s decision “does not seem to comply with the law,” given that the prosecutors had earlier expressed willingness to return. Brussels urged Kosovo authorities to avoid any step that could undermine the reintegration of Serb judicial staff. Meanwhile, the U.S. embassy did not give an official response, but through local media stressed that the Constitution guarantees representation of the Serb community and expects the government to provide equal opportunities.

KPC’s stance toward former prosecutors

KPC spokesperson Bedri Gashi stated that the hiring process will be guided by the legislation in force and that the competition will be open to any candidate who meets the legal standards, not excluding those who resigned and whose request was rejected. “Recruitment will take place according to legal procedures and relevant criteria,” he added, without specifying an exact date for the opening of the competition, indicating that deadlines will be determined during the process itself.

The situation of judges remains pending

Unlike the prosecutors, the fate of Serb judges is still unclear. The Kosovo Judicial Council (KJC) has not yet made a decision on the requests of judges seeking to annul their resignations. This institution announced that it will examine the requests carefully and that the public will be informed after a final decision, without revealing the exact number of those who have requested reintegration, because they are still in the information gathering phase.

Analysts: Lawful decision, but with questionable timing and political consequences

Jurist Vullnet Bugaqku from the Kosovo Democratic Institute argues that acting President Haxhiu did not violate the law with her decree, as she merely gave final form to a procedurally correct decision of the KPC. However, he questions the legitimacy of this act due to the long delay. “The question is not so much about legality, but about the timing of implementation. To act after four years leaves a lot of room for debate,” he said. According to him, this procrastination reflects political deadlocks and internal problems of the KPC, which for some time had difficulty due to lack of quorum. Bugaqku added that the previous composition of the Council perhaps had neither the will nor the courage to tackle such a sensitive topic, seeing it as an issue requiring broad political coordination.

Meanwhile, Miodrag Milićević from the NGO “Aktiv” in North Mitrovica sees the rejection and subsequent decree as a delayed action taken in a delicate political context. According to him, this decision clashes with the recent signals from internationals to encourage return. “This is a deeply political decision, which undoubtedly will increase not only instability but also the deep mistrust of Serbs toward central authorities,” he warned. Milićević acknowledges that responsibility does not lie solely with Pristina, describing the collective departure of 2022 as a political mistake dictated by the Serb List. “Now the Serb community no longer has control over its own return,” he underlined. He believes that resolving this deadlock will profoundly affect not only justice but also interethnic relations and the international community’s stance on a Kosovo-Serbia dialogue that he considers already blocked.

The roots of the process in the Brussels agreements

The return of Serb judges and prosecutors is not simply a functional necessity. It stems from Kosovo’s Constitution itself, which requires that the composition of courts and prosecution offices reflect the ethnic structure of the relevant area, as well as from the agreements reached in dialogue. The 2013 Brussels Agreement established the principle of a single justice system in the north, while the 2015 agreement specified concrete ways of integration. Actual implementation began in October 2017, when dozens of jurists and administrative staff became part of the Kosovo system, in what was considered a success of the dialogue. This process was destroyed by the collective resignations of late 2022.

The challenge between legal solution and reality

For Bugaqku, the new competition represents the proper legal path, but it must ensure that the representation of the Serb community is preserved in accordance with the Constitution and the agreements. “There is no obstacle for former prosecutors to reapply and undergo verification, testing, and interviews,” he explained. However, Milićević sees the main obstacle not in the procedure, but in the lack of will to participate. He doubts that the dismissed prosecutors will agree to go through the same process again. If they refuse, the state will have to find other candidates, facing the dual challenge of preserving the multiethnic character of the system and rebuilding the lost trust of the Serb community in the country’s institutions.