YUCOM: Access to justice worsened with the exit of Serbs from institutions in Kosovo

Access to justice was not fully possible during the integration of the judiciary in Kosovo, and with the exit of the Serbs from the institutions, the situation in that field worsened several times, according to the report of the Committee of Lawyers for Human Rights (YUCOM) on the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina.

The report was prepared as part of a project implemented by YUCOM in 2023 and 2024 with the support of the Institute for Peaceful Change (PCI).

Unresolved issues, such as the lack of public notaries or executors from the Serbian community, persist, but in this changed situation they represent only one of a series of legal gaps and omissions to which citizens are exposed, the report adds.

It is also stated that Serbia, on its own initiative, in a legally unregulated framework regarding the headquarters and areas of courts and prosecutor’s offices on the territory of Kosovo and Metohija, transferred jurisdiction to the courts in Leskovac in order to ensure the resolution of certain cases whose enforcement is possible in Serbia.

“The courts in the Kosovo system, despite the collective resignations, and those in charge in the Serbian system do their work conscientiously and efficiently in accordance with the circumstances. Due to the impossibility of mutual recognition and acceptance of decisions and documents issued by one or the other system, citizens suffer the consequences and are unable to exercise their full rights without decisions before both courts,” adds YUCOM.

Citizens bear high costs not only for conducting these procedures, but also for collecting documentation that is not centralized.

The report also offers recommendations for overcoming such a situation, and among them is the urgent launch of the Joint Committee, chaired by the EU, to monitor the implementation of the Agreement on the Road to Normalization between Belgrade and Pristina, for the sake of transparency in the implementation of the agreements reached.

It is necessary to devise a mechanism/commission for the mutual recognition of documents as soon as possible, which arises as an obligation from the Agreement, and whose work is crucial for ensuring access to justice for citizens living in the territory of Kosovo.

“That mechanism is crucial for faster implementation of relevant, partially or completely unimplemented related agreements, such as agreements on registry books, cadastre and university diplomas, but also preventing parallel proceedings before the Serbian and Kosovo judiciary due to the current impossibility of recognizing relevant documentation from another system and enabling of judicial cooperation.”

The Committee of Lawyers for Human Rights believes that it is necessary to ensure the conditions for the return of holders of judicial positions to the Kosovo judicial system, as well as police officers.

“It is necessary to take care that other legal professions in Kosovo also reflect the ethnic composition of the environments in which they operate, including free legal aid officers, lawyers, public notaries and bailiffs, so that citizens have more confidence in the institutions they turn to,” the statement added. .

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