The process of reconciliation between Serbia and Kosovo and the international legal strategies of the EU States, the USA, and Russia (with particular emphasis on the activities of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers)

Proces rekoncyliacji między Serbią i Kosowem oraz strategie prawnomiędzynarodowe państw UE, Stanów Zjednoczonych i Rosji (ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem działalności Specjalnych Izb Sądowych Kosowa)

Abstract: The aim of this article is to analyse the international legal and political process of reconciliation between Serbia and Kosovo in terms of its impact on the scope of development directions and strategies of the European Union countries as well as Russia and the USA. Particular emphasis was placed on the treatment of these issues in the light of the activities of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office. The main theses assumed for the purposes of this article are as follows: firstly, that the policy of reconciliation between Serbia and Kosovo is multidimensional, including the necessity of the process of international criminal liability for the crimes committed by both states, while at the same time influencing the dilemmas of the development directions of individual European countries, but also of the European Union and the United States. In addition, the legal and political stabilization of the Balkan region, especially in the context of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, and the possibility of cooperation with these states as part of intergovernmental international organizations, is strategically extremely important for the EU, the USA, as well as for Russia. The Author critically analyses issues using polemics with the standpoint presented in the doctrine of the subject as well as interpreting selected instruments of international law and Kosovo’s national law. The deliberations resulted in conclusions as to the determinants in terms of the directions of the legal and political development of the EU and Russia resulting from the complicated process of reconciliation and mutual settlement of sins by Serbia and Kosovo.

Bibliography:

Cady J.-Ch., Booth N., Internationalized Courts in Kosovo: An UNMIK Perspective, [in:] Internationalized Criminal Courts: Sierra Leone, East Timor, Kosovo, and Cambodia, C. P. R. Romano, A. Nollkaemper, J. K. Kleffner (eds.), Oxford 2004.

Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, https://www.scp-ks.org/en/documents/constitutional-amplements-article-162.

Del Ponte C., Madame Prosecutor: Confrontations with Humanity’s Worst Criminals and the Culture of Impunity, New York 2008.

Dietrich F.,The Status of Kosovo – reflection on the legitimacy of secession, “Ethics & Global Politics”, 2010, vol. 3, no. 2.

Domachowska A., Serbia i Kosowo: porozumienie o normalizacji relacji ekonomicznych, “Komentarze IEŚ”, 2020, no. 248.

Fletcher L. E., Weinstein H. M., A world unto itself? The application of international justice in the former Yugoslavia, [in:] My Neighbor, My Enemy: Justice and Community in the Aftermath of Mass Atrocity, E. Stover, H. M. Weinstein (eds.), Cambridge 2004.

Gallucci G. M., The Ahtisaari Plan and North Kosovo, “TransConflict”, November 2011, http://www.transconflict.com/10/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/PolicyPaper_AhtisaariPlanNorthKosovo.pdf.

Hehir A., Lessons Learned? The Kosovo Specialist Chambers Lack of Local Legitimacy and Its Implications, “Human Rights Review”, 2019, vol. 20, no. 3.

Holvoet M., The Continuing Relevance of the Hybrid of Internationalized Justice Model: the Example of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, “Criminal Law Forum”, 2017, vol. 28, no. 1.

Humanitarian Law Center, The Kosovo Memory Book, Pristina, 2011, http://www.kosovomemorybook.org.

Kllokoqi S., EU, US display differences over Serbia-Kosovo negotiation, AP News, 16.06.2020, https://apnews.com/7fdae2ee083ec9cf1ccb200156d1604a.

Kosovo Specialist Chambers & Specialist Prosecutor’s Office, Background, https://www.scp-ks.org/en/background.

Kosovo Specialist Chambers & Specialist Prosecutor’s Office, Cases, https://www.scp-ks.org/en/cases.

Kosovo Specialist Chambers & Specialist Prosecutor’s Office, Press Statement, 24 Jun 2020, https://www.scp-ks.org/en/press-statement.

Kosowo: Prezydent oskarża międzynarodowy sąd o “przepisywanie historii”, Gazeta Prawna, 26.06.2020, https://www.gazetaprawna.pl/wiadomosci/artykuly/1484598,kosowo-prezydent-oskarza-miedzynarodowy-sad-o-przepisywanie-historii.html.

Law No. 05/L-053 on Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office, https://www.scp-ks.org/sites/default/files/public/05-l-053_a.pdf [20.07.2020].

Javanova E., Redrawing the Borders between Kosovo and Serbia: Nationalists’ Fuel or a Rational Solution with the Promise of a European Future?, “International Journal on Rule of Law, Transitional Justice and Human Rights”, 2018, vol. 9, no. 9.

Mahr E., Local contestation against the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, “Contemporary Security Policy”, 2018, vol. 39, no. 1.

Muharremi R., The Kosovo Specialist Chambers from a Political Realism Perspective, “International Journal of Transitional Justice”, 2019, vol. 13, no 2.

Report of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Inhuman treatment of people and Illicit trafficking in human organs in Kosovo, Doc. AS /Jur (2010) 46, 12 December 2010.

Ristic M, Kosovo’s New War Court: How Will It Work?, Balkan Transitional Justice, 06.08.2015, http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/how-will-special-kosovo-court-work%2D%2D08-05-2015 [17.06.2020].

Rossi M., Partition in Kosovo Will Lead to Disaster, Foreign Policy, 19.09.2018, https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/09/19/partition-in-kosovo-will-lead-to-disaster-serbia-vucic-thaci-mitrovica-ibar/ [20.05.2021].

Special Investigative Task Force, Statement of the Chief Prosecutor of the Special Investigative Task Force, 29 July 2014, https://balkaninsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Statement_of_the_Chief_Prosecutor_of_the_SITF_EN.pdf [16.06.2020].

Stalled Normalization between Kosovo and Serbia: What is the way forward? Association of Serbian Majority Municipalities – Transitional Justice and Dealing with the Past – Foreign Policy and Regional Cooperation. Notes from Conversation with Experts, Prishtina 2021.

Schenkel K., The Kosovo Specialist Court and Transitional Justice. Public Perceptions on the KSC and the need for a comprehensive TJ approach, Utrecht 2021.

Szpala M., Serbia-Kosovo negotiations – playing for time under pressure from the West, “OSW Commentary”, 2018, no 281.

The Prime Minister Office, The Government of Kosovo approved the 2020-2023 Governance Program, 05.06.2020, https://kryeministri.rks-gov.net/en/the-government-of-kosovo-approved-the-2020-20203-governance-program/ [20.07.2020].

The Prosecutor v. Fatmir Limaj, Isak Musliu & Haradin Bala, case number: IT-03-66-PT, https://www.icty.org/case/limaj [10.06.2020].

The Prosecutor v. Ramush Haradinaj, Idriz Balaj & Lahi Brahimaj, case number: IT-04-84bis-PT, https://www.icty.org/case/haradinaj [June 10, 2020].

Visoka G., Assessing the potential impact of the Kosovo Specialist Court, Utrecht 2017.

Visoka G., Lumi B., Citizens Perspective on a Future Strategy for Transitional Justice in Kosovo, Utrecht 2020.

Visoka G., Lumi B., Democratizing Transitional Justice: Towards a Deliberative Infrastructure for Dealing with the Past in Kosovo, Utrecht 2020.

Vulliamy E., Wojna umarła. Niech żyje wojna. Bośniackie rozrachunki, Wołowiec 2016.

Xoxha R., Paralleling ICTY’s jurisprudence with the incoming developments of the Kosovo’s Specialized Chambers in Hague, “Policy Analysis”, 2020, no. 2.

PDF: Download