UNMIK/PR/1653 - UNMIK Countdown #15
PRISTINA – The Department of Justice (DOJ) has made great strides in the area of prosecuting serious crime, including cases of corruption, terrorism, war crimes and March 2004 riots cases. The DOJ has also continued the transition of responsibilities to local institutions, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and the Kosovo Judicial Council (KJC), and established the Kosovo Special Prosecutors Office (KSPO) to enable local prosecutors to take on more serious cases in the future, including corruption, organised crime and crimes against public office.
Currently, international prosecutors are working on over 40 corruption cases. More than half of these were initiated in 2006, with 26 people arrested and three convicted. Another five cases are awaiting trial and two are at trial. In addition, DOJ has tried over 40 persons in Kosovo for terrorism or war crimes, convicting over 20 defendants. Cases relating to the riots in March 2004 have mostly been dealt with by local judges and prosecutors. DOJ has handled the more serious cases, for which 36 people have been indicted so far, resulting in 26 convictions and one acquittal. Investigations and trials are still ongoing in several cases.
In the area of capacity-building in the MOJ and the KJC, DOJ has overseen the transfer of competencies to the MOJ Civil Rights Department, dealing with anti-discrimination, access to justice for all communities in Kosovo and victims’ assistance. The DOJ is engaged with the KJC in securing the appointment of quality judges and prosecutors from all communities, with the project for vetting and reappointment of Kosovan judges and prosecutors to commence soon. The three-stage Court automation project, now in its second leg, is also expected to improve the efficiency of Kosovo’s courts.
DOJ’s Office on Missing Persons and Forensics (OMPF) has located and identified over half of the known missing persons from Kosovo, and its efforts were recognized by the bestowing of the ‘UN21 award’ for excellence in the field. A new mortuary was built in 2006, and agreement is expected soon on the merger of the Ministry of Health Forensic Institute with the MOJ Forensics Department. Determining the fate of all remaining missing persons from Kosovo remains a priority.
All eight correctional facilities in Kosovo have now been transferred to local control. In the process, DOJ’s Penal Management Division oversaw the training of more than 1,600 correctional staff and pioneered the creation of conditional release as well as probation and parole schemes. The Kosovo Correctional Service currently houses 1,381 prisoners.
Furthermore, the DOJ Legal Policy Division has facilitated the successful creation of the MOJ Legal and Policy Department, which is now engaged in the drafting of laws on, among other things, notaries and witness protection. DOJ maintains competence in external relations, facilitating requests for international legal assistance and transfers (extraditions).
