The professor of constitutional law, Kadri Kryeziu, says that the Constitution of Kosovo is the most advanced in Southeast Europe. On the day of the highest political and legal act of the state, Kryeziu, who is also one of the drafters of the Constitution, says that this document was drafted to be long-lived in Kosovo. According to him, the main gap in the Constitution is when the goals of the majority cannot be achieved, due to the compromises that have been made for the Serbian community and the double vote in the Assembly of Kosovo.
The former judge in the Constitutional Court, in an interview for KosovaPress, also accuses the Kurti government of having a tendency to violate the Constitution several times through the laws.
“While preparing the declaration of independence, we worked on the drafting of the Constitution of Kosovo, which was based on the Ahtisaari Package. This Constitution falls within the framework of conditional or influenced constitutions. In fact, the Constitution must be a referendum or a referendum with the full will of the people. Our constitution was approved in the Assembly by the people’s representatives… The Constitution of Kosovo compared to 11 constitutions of South-Eastern Europe is one of the most democratic Constitutions in Europe, in the sense of the constitutional norm. It is a constitution where minorities find expression in all areas in terms of rights. Be they in human, religious, cultural and hereditary rights. This constitution is based on the Ahtisaari Package, it is called a constitution with external elements. The Serbian minority was mainly favored there, which was a compromise for Kosovo’s independence. The constitution still has gaps, because sometimes we cannot achieve the goals of the majority, since the voting is based on the Badinter system, which means two-thirds plus two-thirds of the minorities, that in the vital laws we must also have the votes of double number of minorities in assembly”, said Kryeziu.
According to him, there is no special mechanism for implementing the decisions of the Constitutional Court, but he says that based on Article 116 of the Constitution, the authorities who do not implement the decisions commit a criminal offense.
“Our country must be a legal state with the rule of law. This means that every decision, whether that of the assembly or the courts, the state has the duty to implement. If a state takes decisions, be they in the nature of judgments or of parliament, and does not implement them, it is not considered a state that can be integrated at international levels. I have said several times that the decision on the Monastery of Deçan must be implemented, it is not national treason… There is no special mechanism for the implementation of the decisions (of the Constitutional Court). But based on Article 116 of the Constitution of Kosovo, the authorities who do not implement the decisions commit a criminal offense. The prosecution has the duty to initiate criminal investigations for non-implementation of the decision and the penalties are up to six years”, he said.
Speaking about the number of draft laws that the Constitutional Court overturned during the Kurti administration, Kryeziu calls for greater care in their drafting.
“Care must be taken in the drafting of draft laws, especially the legal department in the ministry. It seems to me that they are not concentrated too much and there they consider that some rights, of the nature of work, financial and others, are being violated. If some others are violated and are not in harmony with the Constitution, the Constitutional Court considers them contrary to the Constitution and considers them as unfounded… The Constitution cannot be violated because the Constitutional Court does not allow it, but there have been tendencies to violate the Constitution. The Constitutional Court protects human freedoms and rights, regardless of gender, race, religion, and so on. Through the law, there have been tendencies to violate the constitutional right, especially in employment, salaries, and so on”, said Kryeziu.
As for the risk of establishing the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority, with executive powers and over the country’s Constitution, Kryeziu says that no such provision can be approved in the Constitutional Court.
“The association of Serbian municipalities can be established on the basis of the agreement of 2013. The agreement of 2013 also describes the statute, these other actions have been very political, which the government had the task of drafting its own draft statute. Considering that it did not draft it, then the international factor took over. This draft statute is a conglomeration of several draft statutes… There are several elements, it is unclear 1244, then there is arbitration which is an element that exceeds our institutions. I believe, as a professor of constitutional law, that these provisions cannot be approved by the Constitutional Court”, said Kryeziu.
The Constitution of Kosovo was approved on April 9, 2008, two months after the declaration of Kosovo’s Independence.
