Kosovo to proceed with judicial vetting despite EU objection

The Kosovo government plans to vet all the country’s judges and prosecutors despite the European Union’s objections.

In an interview for Euronews Albania, Kosovo’s Justice Minister Albulena Haxhiu confirmed that Kurti’s government considers justice reform indispensable.

In September last year, a first proposal for judicial vetting was presented to Prime Minister Kurti, foreseeing the establishment of new institutions and panels to vet people in the judiciary.

In October, however, the EU discouraged Kosovo and North Macedonia from pursuing similar reforms in their justice systems like the one it has supported and continues to support in Albania.

Following a panel on justice reform held in Tirana, the justice ministers of both countries said European officials opposed their plans to vet all judges and prosecutors using the format used in Albania.

EU officials claimed that such reforms might lead to too many dismissals and dysfunctional courts and prosecution offices, as was the case in Albania where, for over two years, the two highest courts were dysfunctional.

At the time, Haxhiu highlighted the “alarming ratio” of dismissals in Albania but noted that Kosovo has taken the necessary lessons from reforms there. The vetting process is halfway through, and half of all judicial staff vetted have either quit or been fired.

Kosovo’s justice institutions are also against the government’s decision to vet judges and prosecutors. In November, the Kosovo Judicial and Prosecutorial Councils boycotted the joint meeting with the government to draft legislation on the matter.

Despite backlash from justice institutions and EU scepticism, Kurti and his government have reiterated they will advance the reform and present it to parliament, to clean the system from corrupt judges and prosecutors and improve the administration of justice.

(Barbara Halla | Exit.al)