UNMIK/PR/891
Friday, 13 December 2002

PDSRSG Swears in 30 judges and prosecutors.

On Thursday, 12 December 2002, thirty (30) judges and prosecutors were sworn-in by the PDSRSG Charles Brayshaw. Arrangements are being made to swear in the 12 remaining appointees when practicable.

It was widely reported in the press today that UNMIK has ‘ignored’ or ‘acted against’ the will of the Kosovo Assembly in the appointment of the 42 much-needed judges and prosecutors of mixed ethnicity. UNMIK feels the need to clarify once again the chronology of events, which clearly show the willingness of the KJPC to provide any relevant information the Assembly might have requested, both by meeting with the Assembly Committee responsible and by requesting, in writing, that the Assembly indicate what further information it might require, and the SRSG’s willingness to give the Assembly more time to issue its opinion regarding the appointment, by extending the deadline prescribed by the Assembly’s provisional Rules of Procedure. The Assembly did not respond to either of these opportunities and did not provide the SRSG with its endorsement or with any advice or observations.

Under Section 9.4.8 of theConstitutional Framework, the SRSG appoints judges and prosecutors from lists of candidates recommended by the Kosovo Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (KJPC) and endorsed by the Assembly of Kosovo. Under its own provisional Rules of Procedure, the Assembly must submit the list of recommended candidates to the SRSG for final action, with its advice and observations, within 10 working days of the date on which the recommendation was submitted.

The KJPC shortlisted 86 candidates after careful selection and evaluation of each candidate’s professional history. During the selection process, the KJPC asked for the opinion of the President of the Supreme Court of Kosovo and Presidents of the District Courts. After interviews, the KJPC then chose the 42 best candidates of high moral integrity, with no criminal record and who had been assessed not to have engaged in discriminatory practices in their past careers. This final list was then submitted to the Assembly on 1 November 2002 so that members could provide their comments on candidates to the SRSG if they wished.

On 11 November 2002, the Chairperson of the KJPC met with the Assembly Committee on Judicial, Legislative and Constitutional Framework Matters of the Assembly, in order to provide the Committee with any additional information in the KJPC's possession that the Committee might require.

On 18 November 2002, a request was made by the Assembly for an extension of its deadline until the end of November 2002, in order to ask for more information on the candidates and this additional time was granted by the SRSG.

However, the Assembly sent no request for additional information. Thus, on 25 November, the KJPC delivered a letter to the Assembly to offer, yet again, any further information required. Despite this offer no such request was presented to the KJPC. The Assembly presented no observations on the candidates to the SRSG by the extended deadline of 30 November 2002.

In the absence of any comments from the Assembly, the candidates were thus appointed according to the recommendation of the KJPC as they stood.