Constitutional Court

Case no. KI226/19, Applicant: Hysri Peçani, Constitutional review of Judgment P.no.1191/19 of the Basic Court in Prizren, of 8 November 2019, Ordinance [Ppr. No. 487/2018] of the Basic Court in Prizren, of 8 August 2019, and the Order for long-term attachment of the property [Ppr. no. 487/2018] of the Basic Court in Prizren,of 14 August 2019.

Keywords: individual referral, non-discrimination, exhaustion of legal remedies

On the basis of the case file it results that the Applicant is challenging the decisions of regular courts for two separate cases, respectively (i) the first case related to the criminal offence of Fraud as per paragraph 1 of Article 335 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kosovo No.04/L-082 (hereinafter: the Criminal Code), a case which was initiated in 2015, and for which the Basic Court in Prizren has decided by Judgment [P.no.1191/19] of 8 November 2019; and (ii) the second case for which investigations were initiated in 2018 in relation to certain criminal offences, namely Unlawful exercise of medical or pharmaceutical activity from paragraph 1 of Article 262, Tax evasion from paragraph 1 of Article 313, Fraud from paragraph 1 of Article 335 and the criminal offence Unauthorized ownership, control or possession of weapons from paragraph 1 of Article 374 of the Criminal Code, for which there is still not renedered a meritorious decision by the Basic Court in Prishtina – Special Department.

Regarding the first case, according to the case file, it results that the Applicant has filed an appeal against the Judgment [P.no.1191 / 19] of the Basic Court,of 8 November 2019  and is still awaiting a decision from the Court of Appeals.

The Applicant complained to the Constitutional Court, alleging that the challenged Judgment was rendered in constitutional violation of the “racial discrimination”.

The Court notes that in the circumstances of the first and second case, it results that the proceedings before the regular courts have not yet been completed. Consequently, based on the principle of subsidiarity, the Court is obliged to declare the Applicant’s Referrals inadmissible as premature, namely because the legal remedies in his case have not been exhausted.

Finally, the Referral is declared inadmissible, pursuant to paragraph 7 of Article 113 of the Constitution, paragraph 2 of Article 47 of the Law and further specified by item (b) of paragraph (1) of Rule 39 of the Rules of Procedure.