The Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) has submitted to the Assembly of Kosovo the Draft Law on the amendment and completion of the Law on Specialized Chambers and the Office of the Specialized Prosecutor.
The chairman of the PDK, Bedri Hamza, announced that the Parliamentary Group of this party has proceeded to the Assembly with the request for the amendment and completion of the law. According to Hamza, the initiative comes within the framework of PDK’s position regarding the developments in the judicial processes in the Specialized Chambers of Kosovo.
“Kosovo is going through difficult days and the citizens are continuously protesting against the decision of the Special Court. This reaction of the citizens cannot be ignored and neither can the Assembly act as if this issue does not affect the Republic of Kosovo“, said Hamza.
He emphasized that the Specialized Chambers were not created through a resolution of the United Nations Security Council, but through constitutional changes and laws approved by the Assembly of Kosovo.
The chairman of PDK emphasized that the proposed draft law does not aim to close the Specialized Chambers of The Hague.
“Kosovo made a difficult decision and acted with the conviction that it had nothing to hide. Today, after more than a decade, there is a fact that demands an answer. In the Specialized Chambers, no case has been raised regarding Marty’s claims,” said Hamza.
According to him, if Kosovo created this court with a special mission, then this mission should have a limit.
“The draft law gives a clear answer. It does not require the closure of the Specialized Chambers. It does not require that the charges related to the claims for which the Specialized Chambers were created not be investigated. Those cases will continue to be part of their mandate. This is not an initiative for impunity. It is an initiative to determine who has the right to judge what,” he said.
PDK has announced that, in addition to other democratic and institutional steps, it will also undertake concrete legal actions in the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo.
The submitted draft law aims at changing and supplementing the legal framework on which the Specialized Chambers and the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office operate. The initiative is based, according to PDK, on the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, Amendment no. 24 of the Constitution, relevant international agreements and Judgment KO26/15 of the Constitutional Court.
PDK states that every institution established by the laws of the Republic of Kosovo must act in accordance with the Constitution, the laws of the country, international standards of justice and guarantees for a fair judicial process. Through this initiative, PDK requests that the Assembly of Kosovo examine the legal provisions that regulate the functioning of the Specialized Chambers.
The party has also stated that it will continue to follow the democratic, institutional and legal ways to oppose what it considers injustice towards Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi, as well as to demand respect for the standards of justice in the further stages of the process.
PDK’s initiative comes after the conviction against the former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army, Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi.
