The 2020 annual report of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC) together with the annual report of the Specialist Prosecutors’ Office (SPO) are now available online in the three official languages of the court: Albanian, Serbian and English. The annual report sets forth the developments at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office over the course of 2020.
As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded at the beginning of the year, the KSC introduced measures throughout the organization to respond to the situation in line with the recommendations of the responsible health authorities and managed to maintain business continuity and full operations of the KSC.
In 2020, the activity of the KSC and the SPO reached major milestones with the commencement of judicial proceedings and the arrest of seven persons in three different cases. Over the course of the year, the Pre-Trial Judge, a Court of Appeals Panel and the Specialist Chamber of the Constitutional Court were all engaged in judicial activity.
President Trendafilova commented on the commencement of public proceedings: “The Specialist Chambers was set up to deliver justice through secure, independent, impartial and efficient proceedings, and this is what we will do. It is of utmost importance that these proceedings are public to the extent possible and that people in Kosovo and the region can follow them through our website and receive regular information through reports, news items and information material.”
Registrar Fidelma Donlon who manages the provision of judicial support services said when looking back on the year 2020: “The Registry has shown its capacity to support fair and efficient proceedings in a safe and secure environment. We successfully overcame a number of challenges, to ensure the safe transfer of detained persons to The Hague and the management of judicial proceedings in which all parties and detainees could participate safely including through the use of remote video conferencing.”
The confirmation of the first indictment before the KSC marked the beginning of the process for victims to apply to participate in the proceedings and the Victims’ Participation Office received official applications in two cases in 2020, as well as several inquiries about the process.
