PDK calls for amendments to the Specialist Chambers Law to be approved before October 6

The Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) raised concerns on Tuesday that Parliament could be dissolved without the draft law amending the Law on Specialist Chambers being reviewed, calling for the matter to be addressed before the October 6 deadline.

Deputy Përparim Gruda said in an address to reporters that the time remaining until the deadline for electing the head of state is limited and that the legislature should not be dissolved without discussing this legislative initiative.

“We cannot accept this Parliament being dissolved, and it appears that this is the intention, without addressing this law,” Gruda declared.

October 6 marks the expiration of the deadline for electing the president. According to the Constitutional Court’s assessment, the 60-day period began on August 8 and ends on October 6. Failure to elect the president within this period leads to the dissolution of Parliament and the calling of new elections.

Gruda stressed that the PDK insists that the draft law be reviewed before this date.

“The government may have 30 days at its disposal, but Parliament has only seven. The legislature cannot remain dependent on an administration. I call on government officials to show greater commitment to the national interest,” he added.

He emphasized that the proposal had been professionally prepared, but said the PDK remained ready to hear the arguments and suggestions of other parties.

Gruda also explained that the proposed amendments stipulate that oversight of them would not fall under the jurisdiction of the Specialist Chamber of the Constitutional Court in The Hague, but would instead be subject to the Constitutional Court of Kosovo.

The draft law was filed in Parliament by the PDK on September 21, just days after the Specialist Chambers handed down sentences totaling 81 years in prison to four senior figures of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA): Hashim Thaçi, Jakup Krasniqi, Kadri Veseli and Rexhep Selimi.

The proposed text, seen by Radio Free Europe, calls, among other things, for the maximum sentence that the Specialist Chambers may impose to be 15 years in prison, and for convicted individuals to be eligible for a presidential pardon.

The document was sent to the government for an opinion on September 25, following the first meeting of Parliament’s Presidency in the 11th legislature.

The PDK initiative has received the support of the Alliance, while the Vetëvendosje Movement has announced that it is first analyzing it from a legal perspective.

The Democratic League of Kosovo has announced that it will make its position public after officially receiving the text of the draft law.

Parliament Speaker Albulena Haxhiu said she had referred the PDK proposal to a group of experts, but stressed that she could not yet provide an assessment of its content.

However, she criticized the lack of consultations during the drafting process, arguing that it would have been more appropriate for the draft law to have been prepared by the Committee on Legislation or for the defense teams of the four former KLA leaders and field specialists to have been involved in advance.

Meanwhile, Radio Free Europe asked the government on Monday for clarification about the deadline for submitting its opinion to Parliament, but had received no response by the time this article was published.

In another development, PDK leader Bedri Hamza said on Monday that his party was open to discussing other issues with the Vetëvendosje Movement, provided that the draft law amending and supplementing the law governing the Specialist Chambers was approved.

Hamza said he had discussed the matter with Prime Minister Albin Kurti during a meeting held on Sunday. He added that the issue of electing the president had also been mentioned at the meeting, but that no specific names had been discussed.

“We did not get into names; we did not mention them. If the law is approved, we are ready to discuss other issues as well,” Hamza concluded.