On 26 November 2020, the Specialist Chamber of the Constitutional Court (‘Constitutional Chamber’) delivered its judgment on the referral of the amendments proposed to Article 162 of the Kosovo Constitution (‘Constitution’), on the Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office. The Constitutional Chamber decided that the proposed constitutional amendments diminish the rights and freedoms guaranteed by Chapter II of the Constitution.
The constitutional amendments had been proposed on 24 August 2020 by the President of Kosovo at the time and were subsequently referred by the President of the Assembly of Kosovo to the Chamber for a prior assessment as required by Article 144(3) of the Constitution.
In its judgment, the Constitutional Chamber assessed the proposed constitutional amendments with due regard to the specific context and features of the Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office. The Constitutional Chamber also confirmed that, pursuant to Article 162(3) of the Constitution, it had exclusive jurisdiction to carry out this assessment since the proposed amendments relate to the Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office.
The Constitutional Chamber also reiterated that, pursuant to Article 162(13) and (14) of the Constitution, the mandate of the Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office has continued and shall continue until notification by the Council of the European Union of completion of the mandate.
