On 13 November, Kosovo’s Assembly is expected to vote on the same law that President Justina Shiroka Pula returned for review in October.
If at least 61 deputies vote in favor, the veto is overturned and the law is considered promulgated.
The Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), which proposed the law and also requested its return to the Assembly by the president, has pledged that amendments to it will be approved within two weeks.
Why is the same text being voted on?
The PDK itself asked the president in October to return the law to the Assembly. At the time, the party said it wanted to supplement certain provisions and address issues that could hinder its implementation. On 12 November, the law was sent for a vote without changes. According to the PDK, since there was no agreement with the parliamentary majority on whether the law could be amended during the review, the party decided to ask the Assembly to approve the October text and to propose the amendments through a new initiative once the law enters into force.
The Vetëvendosje Movement, which voted for the law on 6 October, is expected to support it again this time, although it has expressed reservations about its effects.
Committee chair Vigan Qorrolli told REL that the PDK has pushed the initiative forward without the necessary legal analysis and without sufficient institutional consultation. He described the pace of the process as “an unexplained rush” and questioned whether the text going to a re-vote can be implemented.
“I am afraid that the law as it is now, and as it was on 6 October, cannot be implemented,” he said. Despite these reservations, the head of the Vetëvendosje parliamentary group, Arbërie Nagavci, confirmed to REL that the party will vote for the law again.
Vullnet Bugaqku, a legal affairs expert from the Democratic Institute of Kosovo, questions the sequence of steps the Assembly is following.
“Why do you have to overturn the veto? If the veto says you should improve the law? Why is the veto being overturned to leave the law in force, only to then open a new process to review this law?” Bugaqku asks in an interview with Radio Free Europe.
What would take effect?
The text approved in October would narrow the competences of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague. It links its jurisdiction to offences that have a direct connection with the allegations of organ trafficking in the 2011 report of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
It also limits the period covered by the court from 1 July 1999 to 31 December 2000, and provides that cases outside its jurisdiction would pass to Kosovo’s courts.
According to the text, the judicial panels would have to review jurisdiction in each case within 30 days of the law entering into force. It is still unclear which provisions the PDK intends to change.
Can the amendments be approved within two weeks?
Bugaqku told REL that the parliamentary procedure, “if it follows the regular procedure, takes up to three months,” since approval through an expedited procedure requires meeting several conditions, according to the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure.
Article 85 of the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure allows an expedited review, at the request of the Government or at least 30 deputies, for draft laws related to national security, public health or budgetary and financial matters. The first review takes place at least 48 hours after the material is distributed, and the second at least 72 hours after approval in principle. Article 86 provides an urgent procedure for draft laws related to measures during a state of emergency or emergency situation.
According to Article 123, at least six deputies may propose departing from procedural deadlines. Approval requires the votes of two-thirds of the deputies present, and the departure must be consistent with the Constitution.
If the Assembly seeks to waive the deadlines, Bugaqku says it “must justify it according to the criteria of the rules.” He warns that exceeding these criteria “may open a case and an opportunity for someone to challenge this case,” citing the Ombudsperson and other authorized parties.
Radio Free Europe tried to contact the acting leader of the PDK, Vlora Çitaku, for a comment on this process, but received no response.
For Bugaqku, consultation with the Council of the European Union should be the first step in drafting new amendments. According to him, approving amendments without consultation would violate Kosovo’s international commitments and the obligation that, in his interpretation, arises from Article 162 of the Constitution.
If the law enters into force, the content of the amendments and the outcome of talks with the EU will determine whether the announced review addresses the concerns raised by the October vote.
The European Union told REL that it is in talks about the law. In October, the EU welcomed its return to the Assembly and said it expected to be consulted if discussions resumed. In 2014, through the exchange of letters that paved the way for the creation of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, Kosovo committed to consult the EU on legislative initiatives affecting the court’s mandate or procedures arising from the investigations of the Special Investigative Task Force./REL/