Law on Specialist Chambers returned to Assembly, Baraliu seeks clarification from PDK, KDI explains reconsideration

Following a request from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), the president has returned the Law on Specialist Chambers to the Assembly. The move has sparked debate over the reasons for its return and how the reconsideration will proceed. Constitutional affairs expert Mazllum Baraliu is seeking further explanations from the PDK, while the Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI) notes that the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure do not clarify whether the law can be amended at this stage.

President Justina Shiroka-Pula returned the law for reconsideration on October 22, following an official proposal by the PDK Parliamentary Group, which had sponsored it. The PDK is calling on the Assembly to specifically review provisions concerning the jurisdiction and mandate of the Specialist Chambers, as well as guarantees for the constitutional rights of individuals being tried in The Hague. The law was adopted by the Assembly of Kosovo on October 6, 2026.

In a statement to KosovaPress, Baraliu said the PDK should provide substantiated reasons for its request to the presidency. According to him, involving all political entities and institutions of Kosovo would give the initiative greater political, legal and diplomatic weight.

Baraliu also called on the PDK to explain what had not been drafted properly, which amendments could be made and why the return was causing delays for Kosovo, its institutions and the group formed to develop a strategy. He stressed the need to prevent any further delay to the law and for the work to continue as soon as possible and unanimously.

According to Baraliu, the approved text contained legal shortcomings, including inconsistencies with Amendment 24 and Article 162 of the Constitution. He said some provisions lacked sufficient supporting arguments to produce legal effect and to be accepted by European integration bodies and the court itself. He also mentioned reactions from the EU and the court, whose president, he said, has claimed that it is independent, although it falls under Kosovo’s jurisdiction.

Despite the shortcomings that need to be addressed, Baraliu described the adoption of the law as politically important because of the urgency of the moment and citizens’ intensive demands. He said that subsequent improvements could have only a limited legal effect.

KDI senior researcher Vullnet Bugaqku explained that the Constitution gives the president the right to return a law to the Assembly if she assesses that the law or any of its provisions infringe upon Kosovo’s legitimate interests or the rights of communities. According to him, the return must be accompanied by specific, concrete and constitutional reasons.

Bugaqku said that, after the law is returned, the speaker of the Assembly must refer the matter to the Committee on Legislation. The committee has up to four weeks to prepare its report and, if it finds the president’s objections unfounded, must recommend to the plenary the next steps.

According to Bugaqku, the Assembly’s current Rules of Procedure do not clearly stipulate whether deputies or the responsible committee may amend again a law that has passed two readings and been returned by the president. If deputies want the previously approved text to remain in force, they must override the president’s veto in the Assembly with at least 61 votes in favor.