A Constitutional Court Panel, composed of Judges Vidar Stensland, Roumen Nenkov and Romina Incutti, today, 24 December, made public its decision on a referral by Hashim Thaçi alleging certain violations of his fundamental rights. The referral related to the regime of special investigative measures imposed by the Single Judge on the accused during his detention last year.
Thaçi claimed that the imposition of the measures violated certain articles of the Kosovo Constitution and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. He complained, among other things, that monitoring his non-privileged conversations infringed on his right to privacy and certain aspects of fair trial guarantees.
The Panel determined that Thaçi’s complaint did not demonstrate a violation of his constitutional right to privacy, and consequently ruled that this aspect of the referral was inadmissible in accordance with Rule 14(f) of the Rules of Procedure for the Specialist Chamber of the Constitutional Court (“SCCC Rules”).
The Panel further found inadmissible Thaçi’s complaints concerning the right to counsel and the right to silence. Specifically, the Panel found these complaints to be premature, given that no legal proceedings have commenced in this matter and there has been no final determination on the charges. Consequently, not all possible remedies have been exhausted in line with Article 113(7) of the Kosovo Constitution, Article 49(3) of the Law, and Rule 14(f) of the SCCC Rules.
More details are available in the Panel’s decision. Please note that the referral and other filings related to this case number are not yet publicly available.