Zejnulla Gashi appointed Kosovo’s Chief State Prosecutor after decree from Haxhiu

Zejnulla Gashi was appointed Chief State Prosecutor on Tuesday, after acting President Albulena Haxhiu signed the decree appointing him to the position of the highest leader of the country’s prosecutorial system.

Gashi’s appointment comes after Kosovo had been without a chief prosecutor for nearly four years.

Haxhiu received Gashi in a meeting on Tuesday, where she handed him the appointment decree, after the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council had proposed him following a months-long competition, which has been opposed by the Chief Prosecutor of the Special Prosecution of Kosovo, Blerim Isufaj.

Blerim Isufaj has complained to the Constitutional Court against the competition, because he believes the Prosecutorial Council had no legal basis to open a new competition for the Chief State Prosecutor, claiming that the court’s decision from November 2023 on his appointment to this position is still in force.

But Haxhiu said she decided to decree Gashi after a “careful and comprehensive review of the submitted materials, including also relevant information obtained from competent security institutions and reports from organizations that have monitored the selection process.”

“Considering the importance of this function and the need for the full functioning of justice institutions, I have acted in accordance with constitutional and legal responsibilities,” Haxhiu said.

Meanwhile, the Prosecutorial Council said that with the signing of the decree by Haxhiu, the constitutional and legal procedures for his appointment at the head of Kosovo’s prosecutorial system have been concluded.

Gashi will serve as Chief State Prosecutor for a seven-year term.

Kosovo has been without a Chief State Prosecutor since Aleksandër Lumezi’s mandate ended in 2022.

In the absence of a fully mandated chief prosecutor during this time, the post was held in an acting capacity by Besim Kelmendi and Agron Qalaj.

Former President Vjosa Osmani had not decreed Isufaj for this position when the Prosecutorial Council proposed him in 2023, on the grounds that some legal violations were found in the selection process.

The international community had criticized the manner of Isufaj’s selection by the KPC, and has on occasion called for the process to return to square one. /REL