Key Area 1: Supporting the integration of the judiciary in northern Kosovo

The dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina resulted in two important agreements in the rule of law sector; the First Agreement of Principles Governing the Normalisation of Relations (2013) and the Justice Agreement (2015), which have served as the basis for the establishment of an integrated judiciary within the Kosovo legal system.

Following these agreements, the process of judicial integration was completed in October 2017. UNMIK provides support to this process specifically supporting judicial translation, case backlog reduction, court infrastructure development, and the provision of critical equipment.

In addition, UNMIK organises regular Rule of Law Civil Society Coordination meetings in North Mitrovica to exchange information and coordinate activities in the rule of law sector in northern Kosovo. This contributes to improved collaboration across civil society, non-governmental organisations, Kosovo institutions and international organisations.

More specifically, UNMIK has:

• Donated IT equipment and funded the services of a Legal Associate for the Court of Appeals Division in North Mitrovica, to support judges in clearing case backlogs.
• In Mitrovica, one of Kosovo’s most diverse municipalities, UNMIK funded the opening of a new courtroom,  adapted to COVID-19 pandemic protocols, to strengthen local justice institutions.

Key Area 2: Ensuring equal access to justice for all and supporting rule of law institutions

UNMIK, in partnership with civil society organisations, supports legal aid for women, youth, children, elderly, internally displaced persons, returnees, non-majority communities, migrants and groups with disabilities. This aims to ensure access to judicial proceedings in Albanian and Serbian languages across Kosovo and the use of both languages in the work of the law enforcement and judicial bodies. Ultimately, this helps with timely resolution of court cases, resulting in a reduction of case backlog, and strengthens the integration of the judiciary.

UNMIK deploys programmatic funding and partners with other organizations in support of the Kosovo Rule of Law Strategy for 2021–2026 and the accompanying action plan.

More specifically, UNMIK has:

• Supplied basic personal protective equipment (PPE) and hygiene items to the Mitrovica Detention Centre and Lipjan/Lipljan Correction Centre, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• In 2021, UNMIK teamed up with EULEX to finance and establish a bakery inside the Lipjan/Lipljan youth and women’s correctional facility, to provide vocational training and facilitate future reinsertion.
• In consultation with the Kosovo Correctional Service (KCS), UNMIK provided materials and equipment to the workshops of three prison facilities, Dubrava Prison, Mitrovica Detention Centre, and Podujevë/Podujevo High Security Prison, to enable furniture production.

These contributions have been recognised by KCS.

Key Area 3: Facilitating the issuance of International Wanted Notices

UNMIK facilitates interaction between INTERPOL member States and Kosovo authorities. Upon request by the Kosovo authorities, UNMIK’s OROL processes the issuance of International Wanted Notices (Red Notices). For more information about UNMIK's role concerning INTERPOL Red Notices please visit this page.

Key area 4: Conducting certification of documents

UNMIK certifies documents of individuals from Kosovo, to be used in UN Member States that do not recognize Kosovo, thus enabling individuals to work and/or study in non-recognizing UN Member States or request their pensions from Serbian authorities. More than 20,000 private documents have been certified by UNMIK, from January 2013 to date. 

If you need a document certified please get in touch through our contact form.