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Changes to the Specialized Chambers, REL analysis: What is expected after approval in the Assembly?
2026-10-09 10:15:26 / KOSOVA
The Kosovo Assembly approved amendments to the Law on Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor's Office on October 6th, after four former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army were sentenced on September 16th to a total of 81 years in prison for war crimes. But the vote in the Assembly is not the end of the process.
Within eight days of its approval by the Kosovo Assembly, the law is expected to be signed and promulgated by the newly elected President of Kosovo, Justina Shiroka Pula.
If it does not act within this deadline, the law is considered promulgated and published in the Official Gazette.
Flamur Hyseni, a professor of law at the University of Pristina, tells Radio Free Europe (RFE/RL) that only after the law is published could the final content of the changes in it be accurately assessed.
" However, it remains essential that any legal change be in accordance with Article 162 of the Constitution and Kosovo's international obligations ," Hyseni asserts.
However, the Kosovo Law Institute (KLI) estimates for REL that, within the eight-day deadline, the way remains open for the changes to the law to be contested in the Constitutional Court by authorized parties, including at least ten MPs and the Ombudsman, as provided for in the Constitution of Kosovo.
“ This is particularly important because the changes affect the jurisdiction, penalties and procedures of the Specialized Chambers, which are not regulated solely by an ordinary law ,” emphasizes IKL researcher Gzim Shala.
Article 162 of the Constitution grants the Specialist Chambers a special status. Any legal change that may conflict with this article may be claimed as a constitutional violation.
Does the new law automatically oblige the Court?
The Law on Special Courts, with the amendments approved in the Assembly, provides, among other things, for limiting the mandate of the Court in The Hague, transferring cases that do not fall within their jurisdiction to justice institutions in Kosovo, and limiting the maximum sentence to 15 years of imprisonment.
This law also provides for the possibility of serving sentences in Kosovo, as well as the possibility of presidential pardons.
However, according to Hysen, the Specialist Chambers are part of the Kosovo legal system and operate on the basis of the Constitution and a special law.
" The adoption of legal amendments does not mean their automatic implementation in judicial proceedings. The law must be in accordance with the Constitution, while concrete implementation requires respect for judicial independence, the hierarchy of legal norms and international obligations ," he emphasizes.
Shala, meanwhile, claims that if the law – including the amendments to it – is promulgated, it becomes part of Kosovo's legal order and aims to change the legal framework of the Specialist Chambers.
But, he also believes that the law does not immediately oblige the Special Police to implement it.
" Not automatically, and not in a way that could create the impression that the Assembly could unilaterally change the procedures in The Hague ," Shala emphasizes.
He adds that the functioning of the Special Court is based on Amendment 24 of the Constitution, the ratified Agreement between Kosovo and the European Union, as well as the Host State Agreement with the Netherlands.
" Ratified international agreements have priority over ordinary laws. For this reason, Kosovo cannot change the obligations it has assumed towards the Netherlands, the EU and the Specialist Chambers mechanism solely through domestic law ," says Shala.
He emphasizes that any transfer of persons, files, evidence or execution of sentences in Kosovo "requires concrete procedures, institutional cooperation and compliance with relevant international agreements."
Continuity of the old law
The Law on Specialized Chambers, including amendments thereto, may produce legal effects only after its publication in the Official Gazette and entry into force.
The potential impact on the existing decisions and procedures of the Specialist Chambers, says Hyseni, “can only be assessed after the final content of the law is known and the constitutionality of the relevant provisions is reviewed.”
" Until then, any conclusion on concrete legal effects would be premature ," emphasizes Hyseni.
The KLI assesses that entry into force does not automatically annul the verdicts or decisions of the Specialized Chambers.
The approved text itself, according to Shala, determines that cases that are pending before the preliminary procedure judge, the Trial Panel or the Appeals Panel continue under the old law, until the judgment is issued by the Appeals Court.
" So, for cases that are on appeal, the changes do not automatically terminate the procedure in The Hague, and do not immediately transfer it to the Supreme Court of Kosovo ," says Shala.
He adds that the law aims for immediate implementation of several provisions, including limiting the maximum sentence to 15 years, serving the sentence in Kosovo, and the possibility of individual pardon.
But, according to him, these provisions do not automatically produce consequences for final decisions or agreements for the execution of the sentence.
" For final decisions, the law itself provides for the use of extraordinary legal remedies and constitutional standards, while any effect must also be in accordance with the Constitution and international obligations of Kosovo ," says Shala.
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