The Kosovo Law Institute (KLI) has expressed deep concern regarding what it says are the actions of the Acting Chief State Prosecutor, Agron Qalaj, which are directly hindering the implementation of the reform in the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council (KPK).
IKL emphasizes that on January 1, 2026, the long-awaited reform in the Kosovo prosecutorial system was scheduled to begin.
"With the entry into force of the Law on Supplementing and Amending the Law on the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council, the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council will have seven members from the beginning of this year, down from 13 under the old legislation. Last year, prosecutors from the basic prosecution offices, in a merit-based process, elected Ms. Elsa Bajrami as their representative in the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council, whose mandate should begin on January 1 of this year.
"While the public's legitimate expectations are that the KPK will take concrete actions to implement the reform in the Kosovo prosecutorial system and to preserve the principles of the rule of law and the integrity of the prosecutorial system, unfortunately reality is proving the opposite," the reaction states.
IKL emphasizes that the Acting Chief State Prosecutor is continuing with the old mindset of governance with the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council, using unfounded legal interpretations of the Legal Office of the Secretariat of the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council to prolong the functioning of the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council and is aiming to maintain a corporatist mindset within the prosecutorial system.
“Furthermore, IKL assesses that Mr. Agron Qalaj's finding that the proposal of one (1) member of the KPC did not receive the necessary votes for approval is in violation of Law No. 08/L-249 on supplementing and amending the Law on the KPC.
Initially, it should be noted that Article 37/A, which states that: '1. Until the implementation of the permanent composition of the Council of seven (7) members, the quorum of the Council is formed with half of the elected members of the Council plus one (1) member, including disciplinary cases, and decisions are taken by a simple majority of votes of the members present', is a transitional provision, which was valid at the time when the KPC had over seven (7) members and the reduction in the number of members was supposed to come gradually, as has already happened.
Now, in the situation where this transitional provision has lost its legal force, Article 13 of the Law in question applies, which states that: '1. The quorum of the Council is formed by five (5) members, including disciplinary cases, unless otherwise provided by this law; 2. The decisions of the Council are taken by a simple majority of votes of all members of the Council, unless otherwise provided by law'", the reaction states.
IKL further emphasizes that according to this provision, the situation is completely clear: the KPC has a sufficient quorum of five members to hold the meeting.
Meanwhile, decision-making is done by a simple majority of the votes of all members of the Council. The law does not refer to the total number of members, but refers to the “members of the Council”, who are currently five (5), and their simple majority is three.
"In this specific case, the proposal of the KPC member met this legal criterion, as five (5) KPC members were present at the meeting, of whom three (3) voted in favor and two (2) against. Consequently, the proposal received the votes for approval and should be considered approved.
"The Kosovo Law Institute considers that such interventions in the decision-making procedure constitute an attempt to sabotage the reform of the KPC through open legal violations. The Kosovo Law Institute considers that the responsibility for this situation lies directly with the Acting Chief State Prosecutor, who, instead of ensuring the implementation of the law and the legal functioning of the KPC, has chosen to block a regular and lawful decision-making process," the reaction states.
IKL calls on the Acting Chief State Prosecutor, Agron Qalaj, to act in accordance with legal obligations, by ascertaining without delay the certification of the election result of November 1, 2025, as voted in yesterday's meeting.
The Kosovo Justice Institute further emphasizes that the Acting Chief State Prosecutor should serve as an example of respect for the law and procedure to promote the integrity and credibility of the prosecutorial system in this transitional phase, by taking measures for the functionalization of the Prosecutorial Council and for the swift and unhindered transition to the next Chairman of the KPK. /Telegrafi/
