Kosovo’s Committee on Legislation, Mandates, Immunities, the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly and Oversight of the Anti-Corruption Agency has approved four draft laws related to international agreements on judicial cooperation with Sweden and Belgium.

All four draft laws were approved with 11 votes in favor, with no votes against or abstentions.

They include the Draft Law on Ratification of the Agreement between the Republic of Kosovo and the Kingdom of Sweden on Extradition, the Agreement on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons, and the Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters.

The committee also approved the Draft Law on Ratification of the Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters between Kosovo and the Kingdom of Belgium.

Committee Chair Vigan Qorrolli of the Vetëvendosje Movement said these are international agreements between Kosovo and the Kingdom of Sweden in the field of international judicial cooperation.

“These are international agreements between our country and the Kingdom of Sweden in the field of international judicial cooperation. The first concerns criminal matters and covers all relations between the two states in the field of criminal law. The second concerns extradition, and the third the transfer of sentenced persons. This is a comprehensive package of laws governing cooperation between states in the field of criminal justice. If a citizen of the Republic of Kosovo is in Sweden, or vice versa, and is prosecuted for a criminal offense, or if a Kosovo citizen is required to serve a sentence for an offense committed in Sweden, that person may be transferred to the Republic of Kosovo to serve the sentence,” Qorrolli said.

Meanwhile, under the miscellaneous agenda item, Qorrolli announced that, following the completion of recruitment procedures for two vacant positions on the Kosovo Judicial Council and the position of director of the Anti-Corruption Agency, the committee would establish working groups to review the candidates and applications.

The representative of the Vetëvendosje Movement’s parliamentary group proposed MP Blerim Gashi as chair of the working group tasked with reviewing applications for membership of the Kosovo Judicial Council. The establishment of the two working groups was approved with 11 votes in favor.

During the meeting, Democratic Party of Kosovo MP Blerta Deliu-Kodra criticized the way the agreements were being reviewed, calling for the Minister of Justice to report to MPs on their content before they are put to a vote.