The Democratic Institute of Kosovo has said that the draft law on the Bureau requires careful handling and addressing key issues raised by the Constitutional Court and the Venice Commission.
KDI has assessed that such a reform should be built on clear constitutional principles, legal certainty and respect for fundamental rights.
"KDI raised concerns about two fundamental issues. First, regarding the temporal validity of the asset verification, where the determination of the period since 2008 creates legal uncertainty and conflicts with the standards set by the Constitutional Court, which has emphasized the need for a reasonable time limit. Second, regarding the powers to issue secondary legislation, as the draft law gives the Bureau broad discretion to regulate procedures that directly affect property rights, issues that should be clearly defined in the law itself," the statement said, among other things.
Communication:
KDI: The draft law on the Bureau requires careful handling and addressing key issues raised by the Constitutional Court and the Venice Commission
The Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI) held a press conference today, where it presented its positions regarding the current version of the Draft Law on the State Bureau for Verification and Confiscation of Unjustified Assets, which has been processed for review in the Assembly.
During the conference, KDI emphasized that strengthening mechanisms for confiscating unjustified assets is a necessary step in the fight against corruption. However, such a reform must be built on clear constitutional principles, legal certainty and respect for fundamental rights, in order to be applicable and sustainable in practice.
Although KDI supports in principle the idea of civil confiscation and the Bureau itself as a mechanism, it assesses that the current version of the draft law does not fully address the findings of the Constitutional Court Judgment (KO46/23) and the recommendations of the Venice Commission, leaving room for ambiguity and the risk of violating constitutional rights.
In particular, KDI raised concerns about two fundamental issues. First, regarding the temporal validity of the asset verification, where the determination of the period since 2008 creates legal uncertainty and conflicts with the standards set by the Constitutional Court, which has emphasized the need for a reasonable time limit. Second, regarding the powers to issue secondary legislation, as the draft law gives the Bureau wide discretion to regulate procedures that directly affect property rights, issues that should be clearly defined in the law itself.
KDI also highlighted the lack of a genuine and comprehensive public consultation process for this version of the draft law, questioning the transparency and legitimacy of the reform.
In this context, KDI has sent a letter to all members of the Kosovo Assembly with its positions and recommendations for improving the draft law, and will soon prepare and publish a parliamentary research on this issue.
KDI calls on the Assembly to accompany the review of this draft law with an open, comprehensive debate based on constitutional and European standards, in order to avoid solutions that may prove unstable or contestable in practice.
t7 live
