Constitutional Court

KI31/18, Request for constitutional review of Judgment E. Rev. no. 20/2017, of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kosovo, of 20 November 2017

KI 31/18, Applicant: Municipality of Peja

Decision on Interim Measures, of 27 February 2019

Key words: decision on interim measures, public interest

Referral KI31/18 was filed by the Municipality of Peja. Along with its request for constitutional review of the above mentioned Judgment of the Supreme Court, the Applicant requested imposition of interim measures in order to prevent execution of decisions of ordinary courts whereby it was obliged to pay to the private company DPZ Gashi Towing Service a certain amount of money.

The case derived from a tripartite contractual agreement signed in 2005 between the Applicant, Kosovo Police Service and private company DPZ Gashi Towing Service. The tripartite contract was a service provision contract, and as such it provided respective obligations, rights and rewards for the three parties. Object of the contract was provision of services by DPZ Gashi Towing Service for towage, namely withdrawal of vehicles parked illegally or accidentally and placing them in the designated parking place.

As a result of disagreements over the implementation of the Contract, in 2010, DPZ Gashi Towing Service had filed a claim with the regular courts against the contracting parties. As to the claim filed by DPZ Gashi Towing Service, the regular courts rendered eight decisions in total. Three decisions were rendered by the court of first instance; one decision to correct a first instance decision; two decisions at the appellate level, as well as two decisions by the Supreme Court based on the revision filed. Before the Constitutional Court is challenged the last decision of the third group of decisions rendered by the Supreme Court, namely Judgment [E. Rev. No. 20/2017, of 20 November 2017].

Before deciding on the constitutionality of the challenged decisions, the Court decided unanimously to approve the request for interim measures requested by the Applicant, since such measures were considered to be in the public interest.

In its Decision for interim measures, the Court noted that this Decision does not prejudice in any way the final epilogue that the case in question might have before the Constitutional Court.  The latter, without prejudice to any further decision it will render with respect to the merits of the Referral, approved the Applicant’s request for interim measures as grounded until 30 April 2019, thus staying the execution of any decision or action that might be taken towards execution of decisions of the regular courts which have already become executable.