Constitutional Court

KI198/19, Applicant: Besnik Kavaja, Constitutional review of Decision [no. HPCC/REC/85/2006] of the Housing and Property Commission, of 11 December 2006

KI198/19, Resolution on Inadmissibility, of 16 January 2020, published on 28 January 2020

Keywords: individual referral, property dispute, request for interim measures, ratione temporis

The Applicant is Besnik Kavaja from Prishtina, who challenges the Decision [no. HPCC/ REC/85/2006] of the Housing and Property Claims Commission (hereinafter: HPCC), of 11 December 2006.

The Applicant alleged a violation of his rights guaranteed by Article 31 [Right to Fair and Impartial Trial], Article 46 [Protection of Property] of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo (hereinafter: the Constitution), as well as Article 1 of Protocol 1, Article 6[Right to a fair trial], Article 13 [Right to an effective remedy] of the European Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter: ECHR). The Applicant also requested from the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Kosovo (hereinafter: the Court) to impose an interim measure whereby it would decide “to prevent the Kosovo Property Comparison and Verification Agency from evicting me from my apartment, pending the resolution of the claim”.

The Court concluded that the alleged violation of the Applicant’s rights, guaranteed by the Constitution, was done by the decision which became res judicata prior to 15 June 2008, which is the date of entry into force of the Constitution, and the date from which the Court has temporal jurisdiction.

Therefore, pursuant to Rule 39 (3) (d) of the Rules of Procedure, the Court found that the Referral, in relation to the Applicant’s allegation, must be declared inadmissible because it is incompatible ratione temporis with the Constitution.