UNMIK/PR/45

Press Release

17 September 1999

PRISTINA - Bernard Kouchner, Special Representative of the Secretary General and head of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, has signed three new regulations to promote the establishment of an independent, professional, impartial and multi-ethnic judiciary in Kosovo.

The first regulation establishes an Ad Hoc Court of Final Appeal and an Ad Hoc Office of the Public Prosecutor.

The Ad Hoc Court of Final Appeal will have the powers of the Supreme Court, which exercised jurisdiction in Kosovo, and will rule on appeals regarding decisions on criminal law and detention terms handed down by the District Courts.

The Court will be composed of five judges. The SRSG has appointed the judges, including a president, after consulting with the Joint Advisory Council on Provisional Judicial Appointments. Additional judges may be appointed if required.

The SRSG has also appointed a Chief and a Deputy Public Prosecutor to man the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Kosovo.

The second regulation establishes the Technical Advisory Commission on Judiciary and Prosecution Service to advise the SRSG on the structure and the administration of the judiciary and the prosecution service in Kosovo.

The Commission will be composed of ten local and five international members selected and appointed by the SRSG.

The present and long-term requirements of the number, levels and categories of judicial bodies and the prosecution service will be determined by the Commission. The Commission will also advise on the re-establishment of the Supreme Court for Kosovo after appropriate joint consultations with the Advisory Judicial Commission and the Special Joint Advisory Council on Legislative Matters.

The Commission shall submit its report and recommendations to the SRSG in a month’s time. 

The third regulation deals with the establishment of the Advisory Judicial Commission, which will advise the SRSG on matters related to the appointment of judges and prosecutors, as well as on complaints against any judge or prosecutor. The Commission, made up of eight local and three international legal experts, will be multi-ethnic in composition, independent and impartial.

Public announcements will be placed calling for legal professionals to serve as judges and prosecutors in Kosovo. The Commission will review individual applications and make candidate recommendations in writing to the SRSG.

The regulation specifies that a judge or prosecutor shall not hold any other public or administrative office or engage in any occupation of a professional nature, whether paid or not.

A complaint regarding a judge shall be referred to the SRSG, who will consult with the Commission. After investigating the complaint, the Commission shall make an appropriate recommendation to the SRSG on what action to take.