The Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI) opposes the manner of reviewing the Draft Law on the State Bureau for Verification and Confiscation of Unjustified Assets, assessing that parliamentary procedures have been violated and opportunities for the involvement of interested parties in the process have been limited.
The program manager at the Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI), Eugen Cakolli, in a press conference, assessed that organizing the emergency hearing is outside the rules set for public legislative hearings and thus limits the opportunity for citizen participation, non-governmental organizations and all parties to provide input.
"In the first meeting of the Legislation Committee, held today at 9:00 in the morning, the organization of a public hearing was discussed as part of the substantive review of this draft law. While a few hours after the end of this meeting, another meeting was called, in which a decision was made, in fact, by the votes of the deputies of the parliamentary majority, that the public hearing be held as early as the next day, i.e. less than 24 hours from the moment in question. This development undoubtedly significantly shortens the time for decision-making, preparation and holding of the public hearing, creating a turning point in the entire process, since such a deadline leaves no real space for preparation and practically limits the possibility of interested parties to provide contributions to this draft law," he said.
He said that at the same time, during the discussions in the Commission, a restrictive approach was also reflected, which overlooked the assistance provided by KDI for organizing the public hearing, which not only undermines cooperation, but also conveys a negative message regarding the involvement of civil society in decision-making processes.
"KDI recalls that since the Assembly has not supported the initiative to avoid procedural deadlines in the review of this draft law, precisely because of its problematic history due to delays, we consider that no current circumstance, no matter how urgent, justifies the violation of parliamentary procedures and deadlines set out in the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly," he said.
At the end of the press conference, on behalf of KDI, he invited the Assembly to respect the standards set out in the Regulation and to ensure that the process of reviewing this draft law and conducting the public legislative hearing is equal, inclusive and, as such, guarantees real opportunities for contribution from all stakeholders./KP
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