Prof. Dr. Ismet Salihu Recounts How the First Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo Was Drafted in Secret

Thirty-six years after the adoption of the first Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, Prof. Dr. Ismet Salihu has revealed details about the work of the Constitutional Commission and the circumstances in which the document known as the Kaçanik Constitution was prepared.

It was drafted during July and August 1990, at a time when Kosovo had been under the control of police and military units of the Republic of Serbia since July 5, 1990. For this reason, the work was conducted in strict secrecy and mainly at night.

The Albanian members of the Kosovo Assembly’s Commission for Constitutional Affairs involved in drafting the Constitution included Prof. Dr. Kurtesh Saliu, Prof. Dr. Ejup Statovci, Prof. Dr. Ismet Salihu, Mr. Fatmir Fehmiu and Prof. Dr. Riza Smaka. Halit Muharremi served as secretary of the Commission. According to Prof. Dr. Kurtesh Saliu, all of these members enjoyed considerable academic and professional standing.

Of the members of the Constitutional Commission who took part in drafting the Kaçanik Constitution, only Prof. Dr. Ismet Salihu is still alive today. He is regarded as one of the most eminent Albanian scholars and professors in the field of criminal law, both in Kosovo and Albania.

Before July 2, 1990, the Commission’s first two meetings were held in the Kosovo Assembly building. Assembly President Gjorgje Bozhoviq, who by virtue of his position also chaired the Constitutional Commission, along with the Serbian members, called for a Statute of Kosovo to be drafted. The Albanian representatives rejected this position, insisting that Kosovo’s highest legal and political act should be its own Constitution.

Following the adoption of the Constitutional Declaration on July 2, 1990, and with the agreement of Kosovo’s senior leadership and the Kosovo Alternative, the Commission members continued their work outside the Assembly building.

Four or five meetings were held at Prof. Dr. Ismet Salihu’s apartment on “Ramiz Sadiku” Street, now called “Agim Ramadani” Street, in Pristina. During August, the work continued at his house in the “Velania” neighborhood.

At the first meeting held outside the Assembly, it was decided that a draft Constitution of the Republic would be prepared. The members agreed that Professor Ejup Statovci would draft the preamble, while the authors of the other chapters were assigned accordingly. The prepared texts would be reviewed, analyzed and approved at a special meeting of the Commission.

Prof. Dr. Ismet Salihu says that after the document had been completed and approved by all the members, Prof. Dr. Kurtesh Saliu, who formally headed the Constitutional Commission, asked them not to conceal anything if they were questioned by the Serbian regime, but to explain exactly how the work had been carried out.

The proposal was accepted by all the members. The final version of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo was handed over to Halit Muharremi, the Commission’s secretary. The manuscripts were hidden beneath the roof boards of Prof. Dr. Ismet Salihu’s house in Velania, as most of the work had been carried out there.

Halit Muharremi then delivered the full text to Professor Fehmi Agani. At Agani’s house, together with Ali Aliu and Ilaz Kurteshi, the document was read, analyzed and accepted in its entirety.

Prof. Dr. Ismet Salihu says that Ibrahim Rugova was also kept informed about the entire process through to the completion of the Constitution. At the time, Rugova led Kosovo’s largest party, the Democratic League of Kosovo, and had supported the Commission’s work.

Around the twelfth anniversary of the adoption of the Kaçanik Constitution on September 7, 1990, Prof. Dr. Kurtesh Saliu’s recollections were put into writing and included on page 114 of the book “A Day Between Two Eras,” under the title “The Drafters of the Kaçanik Constitution.” The meeting between the author and Prof. Dr. Kurtesh Saliu took place in the summer of 2012 at City Park in Pristina, and the professor approved the content of the text.

The delegates of the Kosovo Assembly were also secretly informed about the meeting to be held in Kaçanik. The session was chaired by Iljaz Ramajli, deputy president of the Kosovo Assembly. With the votes of all delegates present, the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo was adopted on September 7, 1990.