The Supreme Court of Kosovo has ruled that the temporary retention of a driver’s license by the police may not last more than eight days. For this reason, it declared paragraph 3 of Article 17 of Administrative Instruction (Ministry of Internal Affairs) No. 05/2023 on Misdemeanor Procedures unlawful and annulled it.
The paragraph stipulated that the driver’s license could be withdrawn only after the completion of the protective measure banning the operation of a vehicle.
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The decision was issued by a panel of the Supreme Court as part of an administrative dispute, following a lawsuit filed by 28 plaintiffs against the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Kosovo Police. The panel partially upheld as well-founded the claim seeking the partial annulment of the normative bylaw.
According to the Court, the temporary withdrawal of a driver’s license by the police and the protective measure banning the operation of a vehicle constitute two separate legal institutions and cannot be treated as identical in their implementation.
Based on Article 244 of Law No. 08/L-186 on Road Traffic Rules, the Court concluded that the police may temporarily retain a driver’s license for no more than eight days. Consequently, linking the withdrawal of the document to the completion of the protective measure, which may last three, six or twelve months, is contrary to the law.
The Supreme Court also emphasized that a bylaw cannot expand the powers established by law or impose additional restrictions without a legal basis.
Meanwhile, the request to annul paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 17 of this Administrative Instruction was rejected as unfounded. According to the Court’s assessment, these provisions are procedural and organizational in nature, as they designate the police unit responsible for administering the document and establish the obligation to issue a certificate confirming the temporary seizure of the driver’s license, without exceeding the limits of the legal authorizations, the Supreme Court said in its notice.
