On 6 March 2025, a Constitutional Court panel, consisting of Judges Vidar Stensland, Roumen Nenkov, and Romina Incutti, decided on a referral from Haxhi Shala, who alleged violations of his fundamental rights. Specifically, Shala contended that the Pre-Trial Judge failed to consider the lawfulness and merits of his detention during the initial appearance on 13 December 2023, which he argued contravened his right to liberty and security as stipulated in Article 5(3) of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. 

While the Panel found the referral admissible, on the merits, it concluded that Shala’s initial appearance complied with the aforementioned Article. They noted that he was adequately informed of the Pre-Trial Judge’s reasoning on his detention and afforded the opportunity to be heard, and that, although the Pre-Trial Judge could have been more explicit, his decision does not suggest he overlooked the lawfulness and merits of Shala’s detention. More details can be seen in the full decision of the Panel.

Please note that the same matter was also addressed by both the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court, as we informed before.

Here is the transcript of today's KSC Weekly Press Briefing.

Another KSC weekly press briefing will take place on Thursday, 6 March, at 14:30. During this briefing, the KSC Spokespersons will provide a short update on the latest developments in the judicial proceedings before the KSC, as well as on other public activities of the Court. Journalists will have the opportunity to ask questions. Pre-registration is required to attend each briefing. To pre-register, please send an email with name and affiliation to [email protected]. Deadline for pre-registration is every Thursday at 12:00. The Zoom details will be shared following pre-registration. Recordings of the update provided during the Weekly Press Briefings will be made available on the KSC YouTube Channel.

After the Pre-Trial Judge's ruling that we reported on last week, the Trial Panel in the case for war crimes and crimes against humanity against Thaci and others has also denied the same request for Hashim Thaci's temporary release. The public redacted version of this decision is now also available in our Public Court Records.

The legal framework of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers allows detained persons to make requests for a custodial visit to Kosovo when there are compelling humanitarian grounds. The relevant judges decide on any such requests, based on the information provided at the time a request is made.

Please be informed that the hearings for the Thaçi et al. case scheduled for the week of 17 March have been cancelled. The trial is currently expected to resume on 24 March 2025.

As indicated by the Panel during the announcement of its ruling on 4 February, the reasons for the decision approving the plea agreements between the SPO and Januzi, Bahtijari and H. Shala are now available in our Public Court Records.

Here is the transcript of today's KSC Weekly Press Briefing.

Another KSC weekly press briefing will take place on Thursday, 27 February, at 14:30. During this briefing, the KSC Spokespersons will provide a short update on the latest developments in the judicial proceedings before the KSC, as well as on other public activities of the Court. Journalists will have the opportunity to ask questions. Pre-registration is required to attend each briefing. To pre-register, please send an email with name and affiliation to [email protected]. Deadline for pre-registration is every Thursday at 12:00. The Zoom details will be shared following pre-registration. Recordings of the update provided during the Weekly Press Briefings will be made available on the KSC YouTube Channel.

On 19 February 2025, the Pre-trial Judge in the case related to administration of justice offences against Thaci and others denied a second request for temporary release on compassionate grounds of Hashim Thaҫi. Similar to the last time, the Judge found that Thaçi has not demonstrated the existence of exceptional and compelling humanitarian grounds justifying his temporary release. The public redacted version of this decision, filed on 25 February, is available here.

The legal framework of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers allows detained persons to make requests for a custodial visit to Kosovo when there are compelling humanitarian grounds. The relevant judges decide on any such requests, based on the information provided at the time a request is made.

On 26 February 2025, the Trial Panel in the Thaçi et al. case issued its decision regarding a request from all four Defence teams asking the Panel to take measures to ensure the impartiality of the proceedings and to avoid prejudice against the accused. Specifically, the Defence's request addresses the Panel's method of questioning SPO witnesses, alleging, among other things, that it creates an appearance of bias.

The Panel took note of the Defence objections but has rejected the request, concluding that the judicial questioning did not violate the Accused’s rights nor would they lead a reasonably informed observer to reasonably perceive bias. Further details can be found in the ruling issued by the panel.

This is the second decision in this case regarding the Defence's objections to how the Panel has questioned the witnesses. The previous decision was made by the Court of Appeal Panel in July 2023, when the first Defence request was also rejected.