The Constitutional Court published the new Rules of Procedure

The new Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Kosovo no. 01/2023 was published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Kosovo, on Wednesday, 5 July 2023. The aforementioned Rules shall enter into force fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette, namely from 21 July 2023 and shall replace the Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court no. 01/2018.

The Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court is a constitutional category based on Article 115 [Organization of the Constitutional Court] of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo. The drafting of the new Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court underwent a one-year process of analysis of the Court’s practices based on the previous Rules of Procedure but also comparative analyzes related to the best international practices, including the practice of the European Court of Human Rights, those of other constitutional courts, as well as the relevant Opinions and Reports of the Venice Commission. Beyond the continuous discussions throughout 2022, the amendments and supplementations to the Rules of Procedure have been discussed and reviewed in two (2) joint workshops of judges, members of the Legal Unit and senior management of the Court. The Court had the honor to welcome the contribution of the U.S. Federal Judge John R. Tunheim, a distinguished expert on the constitutional and legal system of the Republic of Kosovo, who also participated in the second workshop, held in October 2022, and also in the drafting of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo and the initial founding acts of the Constitutional Court.

The new Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court is organized in nine (9) chapters and contains eighty (80) material and procedural provisions that regulate the decision-making of the Court, its judicial activity, but also aspects of the internal administrative organization. Among the most essential changes that can be highlighted in the new Rules of Procedure are: (i) increasing efficiency in decision-making through, among other things, shortening the internal procedural deadlines related to the publication of a court decision after decision-making; (ii) increasing transparency, especially in judicial decision-making, among other things, through the publication of the report of votes for and against a decision, in contrast to the current system through which judicial decision-making is published only by a note whether a decision was rendered by unanimous vote or majority, as well as openness to dissenting and concurring opinions of judges in all categories of the Court decision-making, unlike the current system where the latter were allowed only in relation to Court Judgments; (iii) increasing the transparency and accountability of the Court through the consolidation of principles and procedures for access to court documents, including confidential ones, but also the further consolidation of internal procedures in the context of public money management; and (iv) consolidation of internal mechanisms for systematic and regular supervision of the implementation of the Court’s decisions.

The one-year work process of drafting the new Rules of Procedure was completed on 27 June 2023, when the Court reviewed and voted the Rules of Procedure No. 01/2023 at administrative session. On the same day, the judges of the Constitutional Court also approved the new Code of Ethics for Judges of the Constitutional Court, which has already been published on the website of the Constitutional Court. This code of ethics reflects the highest standards of ethical conduct of judges entailed in (i) the principles established through the Venice Commission; (ii) the rules of ethics of international courts, including the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union; but which also derived from (iii) the comparative analysis of other Constitutional Courts.

The Constitutional Court remains committed to continuously improve the internal administrative functioning and court decision-making, in terms of efficiency, quality, transparency and accountability, following and implementing the best European practices and beyond, within the scope allowed by the Constitution, the Law on the Constitutional Court and other applicable laws of the Republic of Kosovo.