Proposed Law to Curb Powers of Hague-Based Court Returned to Kosovo Assembly

Supporters of former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) leader and former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci take part in a march in support of him in Pristina, Kosovo, prior to the verdict, September 12, 2026. EPA/GEORGI LICOVSKI Kosovo President Justina Shiroka Pula sent the amended Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC) bill back to parliament on Thursday for review on the request of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) which had proposed the bill, less than three weeks after its controversial approval. The law, which aims to curtail the jurisdiction of the Hague-based court, came after weeks of street protests led by Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) veterans, who rallied under the slogan “Not in my name” – a reference to the KSC judge’s choice of words, “In the name of the people of Kosovo”, when he read the verdict. “The president received a formal proposal from the parliamentary group of the Democratic Party of Kosovo – the sponsor of the legislation – to allow the assembly to reconsider the law, specifically the provisions concerning the jurisdiction and mandate of the Specialist Chambers,” read a statement from the president’s office on Thursday. “The president has reiterated her opposition to any attempt to distort the historical truth of Kosovo, to cast doubt on the liberationist nature of the war, or to equate the people who fought for freedom and survival with the regime that oppressed them,” the statement read. The initial bill was passed after four former KLA leaders were convicted by the KSC for the war crimes of arbitrary detention, cruel treatment, torture and murder, committed between April 1998 and June 1999. Hashim Thaci and Jakup Krasniqi were sentenced to 25 years in prison each and Kadri Veseli and Rexhep Selimi received 18 and 13 years, respectively, with credit for time served in detention from November 2020. The verdict can be appealed and their lawyers are working to challenge the conviction. Given the uncertainty over whether the KSC will indict anyone else, the effect of the bill is uncertain, but the message it sent was clear, and the European Union was unhappy. “The Law […] goes against Kosovo’s international obligations towards the EU,” read a statement from the EU after the law was initially approved. The EU finances most of the court’s operations. In a speech at the Berlin Process Summit in Montenegro on Thursday, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said that “weeks and months of defining moments” lie ahead for the Western Balkans and reminded Kosovo of its obligations under international law. On Thursday, Perparim Gruda, a MP from PDK who was involved in drafting the recent KSC bill wrote on Facebook that “there is no error in the law amending the Law on the Specialist Chambers.” The Kosovo Specialist Chambers is a hybrid court, part of Kosovo’s judiciary but located in The Hague and staffed by internationals. The court was established in 2015 under pressure from Kosovo’s Western allies. Hashim Thaci was one of the main Kosovar supporters of the establishment of the court. Since the conviction of the former KLA leaders over a month ago, criticism of the KSC has continued unabated in Kosovo. On October 14, Kosovo’s Ombudsperson, Naim Qelaj, held an event in Pristina to demand external oversight of the KSC. Qelaj claimed that the court “has not been subject to democratic monitoring and control by the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo, creating a lack of transparency and accountability towards the citizens and institutions of Kosovo”. He said it should report to the Kosovo authorities and that the Ombudsperson institution should be able to have access to its work. KSC spokesperson Angela Griep told BIRN that “according to the legal framework of the Specialist Chambers, the Kosovo Ombudsperson does not have any responsibility with respect to the Specialist Chambers. This responsibility falls exclusively with the Ombudsperson of the Specialist Chambers in accordance with the Kosovo Constitution”.