Constitutional Court

KI47/19, Applicant: Bislim Kosumi, Constitutional review of Judgment Rev. No. 5/2019, of the Supreme Court, of 7 February 2019

KI47/19, Resolution on inadmissibility, of 22 July 2020, published on 24 August 2020

Keywords: individual referral, equality before the law, right to fair and impartial trial, manifestly ill-founded referral 

The Applicant filed a Referral with the Court for the second time. In the first case of the Applicant, which was registered in the Court register under No. KI34/10, the Constitutional Court on 21 January 2011, rendered a Resolution on Inadmissibility, declaring the Applicant’s Referral inadmissible because it was incompatible ratione temporis with the Constitution.

The Applicant in 2008, filed a lawsuit with the Municipal Court in Podujeva, against the Municipality of Podujeva, Directorate for Urban Planning, Cadastre and Environmental Protection, with a request for compensation of material damage allegedly caused by the Municipality of Podujeva by Decision No. 09/15/18 of 08.05.2008, in connection with the demolition of the building due to the regulation-construction of the square.

The Basic Court by Judgment C. No. 377/08 partially approved the statement of claim of the Applicant, obliging the Municipality of Podujeva to pay the Applicant, in the name of material damage caused in connection with the demolition of the building, as a result of Decision [09/15/18], of the Directorate for Urban Planning, Cadastre and Environmental Protection, of 8 May 2008, for the compensation regarding the amount of € 10,000. The Municipality of Podujeva and the Applicant filed appeals against this Judgment.

The Court of Appeals by Judgment Ac. No. 2584/14 approved the appeal of the Municipality of Podujeva, modifying the Judgment [C. No. 377/08] of 7 May 2014, of the Basic Court in Prishtina, Branch in Podujeva, regarding the part of compensation for material damage and costs of the proceedings, rejecting in its entirety as ungrounded the statement of claim of the Applicant.

Following the Applicant’s request for revision, the Supreme Court of Kosovo by Judgment [Rev. No. 5/2019] rejected the Applicant’s revision as ungrounded.

The Applicant alleged before the Constitutional Court that his rights guaranteed by Article 3 [Equality Before the Law], Article 24 [Equality Before the Law] and Article 31 [Right to Fair and Impartial Trial] of the Constitution have been violated. More specifically, the Applicant alleged that the Supreme Court did not take into account the Applicant’s evidence by deciding only on the basis of the Contracts submitted by the Municipality of Podujeva, and that he was not guaranteed equal protection of rights in the proceedings before the courts.

The Constitutional Court considered that the Applicant did not substantiate the allegations that the respective proceedings were in any way unfair or arbitrary and that the challenged decision violated the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution. The Constitutional Court concluded that in accordance with Article 113.7 of the Constitution, Article 20 of the Law, and Rule 39 (2) of the Rules of Procedure, the Applicant’s Referral was manifestly ill-founded.