BRUSSELS – The European Commission said on Wednesday that the EU’s support for Kosovo Specialist Chambers remains unchanged following the first-instance verdict against former Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi and three other former members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), KoSSev reported.
European Commission spokesperson Christian Wigand said the EU would not comment on announcements or plans to change the functioning of the Specialist Chambers, but stressed that they are an independent judicial institution whose work continues to enjoy the EU’s support.
He also noted that those convicted have the right to appeal before the independent appeals judges of the Specialist Chambers.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) has submitted proposed legislative amendments to the Kosovo Assembly that would narrow the jurisdiction of the Specialist Chambers, with cases falling outside their revised mandate transferred to Kosovo’s judiciary.
The proposal also stipulates that, should the first-instance verdict against Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi be overturned and the case sent for retrial, the proceedings would continue in Kosovo.
Among the changes proposed by the PDK are a maximum prison sentence of 15 years, the possibility for sentences to be served in Kosovo and the option of presidential pardons.
At the same time, organisations representing KLA veterans are calling for the complete abolition of the Specialist Chambers.
According to KoSSev, Wigand did not answer a question on Wednesday on whether the EU considers that the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office has fulfilled its mandate regarding all alleged war crimes committed during the 1998–1999 period.
Asked whether the EU had requested that Serbia hand over suspects in connection with crimes committed in Meja or prosecute them in Belgrade, Wigand said the Commission would look into the matter and provide an answer at a later stage.
According to an earlier interpretation by the Constitutional Court of the Specialist Chambers, their mandate remains in force until the Council of the European Union notifies Kosovo that it has ended.
