Legislation
Monday, October 19, 2026
Law · Analysis · Developments
Parliament approves draft law that moves part of the Special Court's jurisdiction to Kosovo
The Assembly of Kosovo, in an extraordinary session, has adopted with 91 votes in the first reading Bill No. 11/L-001 for the amendment and completion of Law No. 05/L-053 on the Specialized Chambers and the Office of the Specialized Prosecutor.
The bill was proposed by the deputy of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, Përparim Gruda, who during the presentation before the deputies said that the changes aim to limit the jurisdiction of the Specialized Chambers for future cases, leaving them the competence related to the claims on which, according to him, this mechanism was originally established.
Gruda said that the proceedings held in The Hague have shown that the claims of organ trafficking, raised in the Dick Martyt report, have not materialized into charges and judicial proceedings developed so far.
“The six‑year process of trying the KLA leaders in The Hague, the accusation and the first‑instance decision, have proven beyond any doubt that there was no organ trafficking,” declared Gruda.
According to him, the bill does not remove the Specialized Chambers' ability to continue investigating the claims of organ trafficking, but aims to remove a part of the jurisdiction related to war crimes.
“This law does not take away the Special Court’s right to continue investigating the organ trafficking accusation, but this law does only one thing: it removes a part of the Special Court’s jurisdiction that concerns war crimes,” he said.
Gruda argued that the jurisdiction over war crimes was granted to the Specialized Chambers through the law and not directly through the constitutional amendment. He also referred to a decision of the Specialized Chamber of the Constitutional Court, which he said notes that the Assembly had granted additional authorizations through the law.
“Moreover, the Constitutional Chamber in The Hague says that, had it wanted, the Kosovo Assembly would have reduced this jurisdiction by law only to the specific claims of the Dick Martyt report. That has been precisely our motive for addressing the amendment of the law,” declared Gruda.
Existing cases would continue in The Hague
According to Gruda’s presentation, the proposed changes would not interrupt the existing proceedings against Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi.
He said that these cases would continue under the bill in the Specialized Chambers until the conclusion of the procedure at the second instance.
“The existing cases, such as those of Mr. Thaçi, Mr. Veseli, Mr. Krasniqi and Mr. Selimi, continue under this bill to be tried in The Hague until the second‑instance decision, until a final decision,” said Gruda.
However, according to him, if a case were to proceed to a third instance, the bill provides that such procedure would take place in Kosovo.
“If there is a third‑instance judgment, namely if there is a judgment in the Supreme Court, the law provides that it be transferred to Kosovo,” he declared.
Greater oversight and transparency
Another change presented by Gruda concerns the possibility for the Assembly to engage international organizations, universities or institutes to oversee the work of the Specialized Chambers, including appeal procedures.
“The lack of transparency is unacceptable in any democratic system, especially when a decision on a case does not concern only the individual fate of a few people under accusation, but concerns a part of a nation's history,” said Gruda.
The bill, according to him, also aims to expressly stipulate the application of the principle of the more favorable law for the accused, obliging the Specialized Chambers to apply it.
“We have included a specific article that obliges the Specialized Chambers to apply one of the most fundamental principles of domestic and international criminal justice: the application of the more favorable law,” declared the PDK deputy.
Gruda: The Constitution is not changed and international obligations are not violated
Gruda insisted that the proposed changes do not require amending the Constitution of Kosovo and, in his interpretation, do not breach the international obligations undertaken by Kosovo or the agreement with the Netherlands.
“We are not changing the Constitution, we are not breaking the agreement. We are doing something that even the Constitutional Chamber there has noted: war crimes can be tried and judged in Kosovo,” he said.
He also argued that the constitutionality of the law approved by the Assembly can be examined only by the Constitutional Court of Kosovo and not by the Specialized Chamber of the Constitutional Court in The Hague.
“The decisions of this Assembly, of a sovereign state, cannot be overseen by the Constitutional Chamber in The Hague. Every country has a Constitutional Court. We have a Constitutional Court,” declared Gruda.
According to him, any dispute over the bill after its adoption must be brought before the Constitutional Court in Pristina.
“This law does not aim to evade justice”
In concluding the presentation, Gruda said that the initiative does not aim to deny victims their right to justice, but to change the manner and jurisdiction in which future cases related to war crimes will be addressed.
“This law does not aim to evade justice, it does not aim to deny victims the right to receive answers and to obtain justice. But this law guarantees justice and does not allow the history of a nation to be tarnished in the name of justice,” said Gruda.
With 91 votes in the first reading, the bill has already passed the first stage of parliamentary review and will continue further procedures in the Assembly.
The bill was proposed by the deputy of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, Përparim Gruda, who during the presentation before the deputies said that the changes aim to limit the jurisdiction of the Specialized Chambers for future cases, leaving them the competence related to the claims on which, according to him, this mechanism was originally established.
Gruda said that the proceedings held in The Hague have shown that the claims of organ trafficking, raised in the Dick Martyt report, have not materialized into charges and judicial proceedings developed so far.
“The six‑year process of trying the KLA leaders in The Hague, the accusation and the first‑instance decision, have proven beyond any doubt that there was no organ trafficking,” declared Gruda.
According to him, the bill does not remove the Specialized Chambers' ability to continue investigating the claims of organ trafficking, but aims to remove a part of the jurisdiction related to war crimes.
“This law does not take away the Special Court’s right to continue investigating the organ trafficking accusation, but this law does only one thing: it removes a part of the Special Court’s jurisdiction that concerns war crimes,” he said.
Gruda argued that the jurisdiction over war crimes was granted to the Specialized Chambers through the law and not directly through the constitutional amendment. He also referred to a decision of the Specialized Chamber of the Constitutional Court, which he said notes that the Assembly had granted additional authorizations through the law.
“Moreover, the Constitutional Chamber in The Hague says that, had it wanted, the Kosovo Assembly would have reduced this jurisdiction by law only to the specific claims of the Dick Martyt report. That has been precisely our motive for addressing the amendment of the law,” declared Gruda.
Existing cases would continue in The Hague
According to Gruda’s presentation, the proposed changes would not interrupt the existing proceedings against Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi.
He said that these cases would continue under the bill in the Specialized Chambers until the conclusion of the procedure at the second instance.
“The existing cases, such as those of Mr. Thaçi, Mr. Veseli, Mr. Krasniqi and Mr. Selimi, continue under this bill to be tried in The Hague until the second‑instance decision, until a final decision,” said Gruda.
However, according to him, if a case were to proceed to a third instance, the bill provides that such procedure would take place in Kosovo.
“If there is a third‑instance judgment, namely if there is a judgment in the Supreme Court, the law provides that it be transferred to Kosovo,” he declared.
Greater oversight and transparency
Another change presented by Gruda concerns the possibility for the Assembly to engage international organizations, universities or institutes to oversee the work of the Specialized Chambers, including appeal procedures.
“The lack of transparency is unacceptable in any democratic system, especially when a decision on a case does not concern only the individual fate of a few people under accusation, but concerns a part of a nation's history,” said Gruda.
The bill, according to him, also aims to expressly stipulate the application of the principle of the more favorable law for the accused, obliging the Specialized Chambers to apply it.
“We have included a specific article that obliges the Specialized Chambers to apply one of the most fundamental principles of domestic and international criminal justice: the application of the more favorable law,” declared the PDK deputy.
Gruda: The Constitution is not changed and international obligations are not violated
Gruda insisted that the proposed changes do not require amending the Constitution of Kosovo and, in his interpretation, do not breach the international obligations undertaken by Kosovo or the agreement with the Netherlands.
“We are not changing the Constitution, we are not breaking the agreement. We are doing something that even the Constitutional Chamber there has noted: war crimes can be tried and judged in Kosovo,” he said.
He also argued that the constitutionality of the law approved by the Assembly can be examined only by the Constitutional Court of Kosovo and not by the Specialized Chamber of the Constitutional Court in The Hague.
“The decisions of this Assembly, of a sovereign state, cannot be overseen by the Constitutional Chamber in The Hague. Every country has a Constitutional Court. We have a Constitutional Court,” declared Gruda.
According to him, any dispute over the bill after its adoption must be brought before the Constitutional Court in Pristina.
“This law does not aim to evade justice”
In concluding the presentation, Gruda said that the initiative does not aim to deny victims their right to justice, but to change the manner and jurisdiction in which future cases related to war crimes will be addressed.
“This law does not aim to evade justice, it does not aim to deny victims the right to receive answers and to obtain justice. But this law guarantees justice and does not allow the history of a nation to be tarnished in the name of justice,” said Gruda.
With 91 votes in the first reading, the bill has already passed the first stage of parliamentary review and will continue further procedures in the Assembly.
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Pafajësia në Hagë dhe e drejta për kompensim
A mund të krahasohen juridikisht rastet e Ramush Haradinajt dhe Fatmir Limajt me Hashim Thaçin, Kadri Veselin, Jakup Krasniqin dhe Rexhep Selimin? Dhe a ndikojnë milionat e paguar nga Kosova për mbrojtjen juridike në të drejtën eventuale për kompensim për privimin nga liria?Këtyre ditëve, në opinionin publik po diskutohet gjithnjë e më shumë një pyetje që, në rast të përfundimit të proceseve para Dhomave të Specializuara me aktgjykime të pafajësisë, do të marrë rëndësi të madhe juridike dhe financiare:Nëse Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi, Rexhep Selimi apo persona të tjerë të akuzuar para Dhomave të Specializuara shpallen përfundimisht të pafajshëm, a do të kenë të drejtë në kompensim për periudhën e kaluar në privim nga liria?Në debatet publike shpesh dëgjohet një kundërargument: edhe Ramush Haradinaj e Fatmir Limaj kaluan periudha të konsiderueshme në paraburgim në Hagë, u gjykuan dhe u shpallën të pafajshëm, por pafajësia e tyre nuk prodhoi një të drejtë të përgjithshme për kompensim nga Tribunali Penal Ndërkombëtar për ish-Jugosllavinë (ICTY). Në shikim të parë, krahasimi duket logjik. Juridikisht, megjithatë, krahasimi nuk është i saktë.