(Completed) - The extraordinary session of the Assembly has begun, with three items on the agenda to be reviewed.

The Kosovo Assembly has approved with 90 votes a resolution through which it has requested the Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor's Office in The Hague to exercise a fair trial against the former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army.

The Democratic League of Kosovo MPs did not participate in the vote, as their request to add a point to the content was not accepted.

In presenting the content, Democratic Party of Kosovo MP Përparim Gruda said that the resolution was drafted by independent experts.

Content of the resolution

Reaffirming the full commitment of the Assembly to respecting the constitutional order, including Amendment No. 24 of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo on the establishment of the Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor's Office;

Recalling the purpose of this amendment and the commitment of the Republic of Kosovo to address and refute the unfounded allegations stemming from the Report of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe [Document 12462] of 7 January 2011, which, even after a decade of international investigations, have not constituted a basis for inclusion in the indictments filed against the leaders and fighters of the Kosovo Liberation Army;

Expressing full faith in the values ​​of the Kosovo Liberation Army, as a sublime part of our glorious history, upon which our Republic stands, and honoring the sacrifices of the men and women of Kosovo for its freedom and independence, as underlined in the preamble of the Kosovo Declaration of Independence;

Emphasizing our full commitment to protecting the values ​​of democracy, separation of powers and independence of the judiciary, as specified in the Constitution of our Republic and in international acts and standards;

Stressing our full commitment to the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and international instruments, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights;

Considering it necessary to reiterate the obligations that fall upon the Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor's Office, as well as upon any other institution of the Republic of Kosovo, regarding the implementation of constitutional and international standards and principles for the proper administration of justice;

Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo

REQUESTS the Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor's Office, in the exercise of their functions, to ensure the strict implementation of the laws and the Constitution of Kosovo, which contains the best international standards regarding a fair and impartial judicial process, while also respecting the principles of transparency, accountability and the cultivation of public confidence in justice.

REQUESTS the Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor's Office, in the exercise of their functions, to ensure the strict implementation of constitutional and international standards regarding the protection of the fundamental rights and freedoms of Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi, Rexhep Selim and others, including the obligations arising from the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights.

REQUESTS the Ombudsperson of the Specialist Chambers, whose exclusive responsibility for the Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor's Office derives from the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, to act with complete independence and impartiality in the exercise of this function, in accordance with constitutional obligations and international standard acts relating to this function.

REQUESTS the funding and supporting states of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague to respect the agreement with the Republic of Kosovo, that the court operates on the basis of the laws and Constitution of Kosovo, which has all the best international standards embedded in it. The funding and supporting states of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers must take responsibility if these rights are violated.

ENCOURAGES all democratic states to join in our call for full respect for international standards for a fair and impartial trial – standards that stem from the constitutional tradition of all democratic states and the acts and recommendations adopted by international mechanisms, including, but not limited to, the United Nations, the European Union, the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

ENCOURAGES monitoring mechanisms for respect for fundamental rights and freedoms within international organizations, as well as international and local non-governmental organizations, to increase monitoring of the compliance of the functioning of the Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor's Office with international standards for the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms in judicial proceedings and to report on identified violations.

CONFIRMS the commitment and dedication to ensuring all mechanisms, including financial ones, in support of the rights of defense of leaders and fighters of the Kosovo Liberation Army before the Specialist Prosecutor's Office and the Specialist Chambers.

CONFIRMS the full commitment and dedication to undertaking all actions to affirm the values ​​of the war of the Kosovo Liberation Army and the history on which the Republic of Kosovo was built.

Resolution expected to be approved in defense of former KLA leaders

The Head of the AAK Parliamentary Group, Besnik Tahiri, has requested that the third item on the agenda, the Resolution on The Hague, be brought up first.

"I request that the third point, that of the Resolution on The Hague, be placed on the first point, as President Ramush Haradinaj has an obligation and wishes to be part of the vote on this resolution," said Tahiri.

This was approved by the Speaker of the Assembly, Albulena Haxhiu, as she requested a vote on changing the agenda.

The 101 deputies present voted in favor.

The session begins, the new deputies are sworn in

The Speaker of the Assembly of Kosovo, Albulena Haxhiu, has opened the proceedings of the extraordinary plenary session, attended by 110 deputies of the tenth legislature.

Haxhiu announced that the country's president, Vjosa Osmani, has taken legal steps to replace the MPs who are part of the government cabinet and will hold the position of ministers.

The MPs will address the budget extension for March, the formation of parliamentary committees, as well as the draft resolution for the Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor's Office in The Hague.

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This is the first session after yesterday's constitution of the tenth legislature.

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