The Venice Commission has rejected a request by Kosovo’s outgoing Prime Minister Albin Kurti for an opinion on a presidential decree, suggesting to wait until the Constitutional Court of Kosovo rules on the matter.
The news was announced by the government on Tuesday, and it comes only three days after Kurti’s request to the Commission.
Kurti had asked the Commission for an opinion on the President’s power to disband the Parliament and to propose a candidate for Prime Minister following the motion of no-confidence that ousted Kurti’s government.
The Commission has stated that they will respect the Constitutional Court decision, after the latter suspended the implementation of the President’s decree, as well as a parliamentary vote on a new government, and set May 29 as the time for a final ruling on its merits.
The Court is also expected to rule on whether President Thaçi’s decree granting Kosovo’s second largest party, LDK, the right to form a new government is in line with the Constitution or not.
“We welcome the Commission’s suggestion to respect and wait for the review of our request and the ruling of the Constitutional Court,” the government stated. They added that they’ll will ask for the Commission’s opinion again after the Court’s ruling “if necessary”.
The Venice Commission is an advisory body of the Council of Europe. Its independent experts in constitutional law issue opinions that are only advisory.
