The Kosovo Specialist Prosecutor’s Office (SPO) in The Hague has argued against President Hashim Thaci’s proposal to parliament for constitutional changes to the court’s mandate.
The SPO told Radio Free Europe on Tuesday that Thaci’s proposal primarily aims to undo or invalidate the activity of their office.
The Kosovo war crimes court in The Hague, formally called the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office (KSC-SPO), is currently assessing Thaci’s proposal following a request by Speaker of Parliament Vjosa Osmani on September 18.
In August 2020, Thaci asked the parliament to amend the constitution so as to include a legal provision stipulating that the court’s term last “until an announcement on the end of its term is made by the Council of the European Union, in consultation with the Government of the Republic of Kosovo.”
A similar legal stipulation is found in Law 04/L-274: the court’s mandate “shall continue until such time as Kosovo is notified by the Council of the European Union that the investigations have been concluded or any proceedings resulting in therefrom have been concluded.”
The Kosovo Constitution, on the other hand, states that the court’s mandate ends in five years, which falls on 2020.
The president has argued that the change is needed to clarify the confusion created by different stipulations in the Constitution and law.
In September, Osmani asked the KSC-SPO to assess whether Thaci’s proposal risks hampering rights and freedoms of the court.
The embassies of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States commended Osmani’s request, and called on Kosovo institutions to oppose attempts to undermine or discredit the mission of the KSC-SPO.
President Hashim Thaci and former Speaker of Parliament Kadri Veseli are waiting for the court to confirm whether they will be charged for war crimes.
