Constitutional Court

KO45/18, Applicants: Glauk Konjufca and 11 other deputies of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, Constitutional Review of Law No. 06/L-060 on Ratification of the Agreement on the State Border between the Republic of Kosovo and Montenegro

KO45/18, Judgment of 18 April 2018, published on 30 April 2018

Keywords: abstract control, institutional referral, international agreements, ratification, demarcation, admissible, ratione materiae.

The Applicants submitted the Referral to the Court for constitutional review of Law No. 06/L-060 on Ratification of the Agreement on the State Border between the Republic of Kosovo and Montenegro. They alleged that the procedure followed for the adoption as well as the substance of the Law on Ratification of the Demarcation are in violation of Articles 1 [Definition of State], 2 [Sovereignty], 4 [Form of Government and Separation of Powers], 18 [Ratification of International Agreements], 125 [General Principles], 126 [Kosovo Security Force], 127 [Kosovo Security Council], 128 [Kosovo Police] and 129 [Kosovo Intelligence Agency] of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo.

The Court declared the Referral admissible because the Applicants were authorized parties under Article 113.5 of the Constitution, had submitted the Referral within the deadline of 8 (eight) days as required by Article 113.5 of the Constitution, and had complied with the criteria given in Article 42 of the Law on the Constitutional Court.

After considering the allegations of the Applicants, based upon its established case-law, the Court recalled that the Law on Ratification of the Demarcation and the International Agreement on Demarcation are two separate legal acts. The Court recalled that it is competent under the Constitution to review the “Law” for compatibility with the Constitution, both in its substance and as regards the procedure followed for its adoption. However, the Court recalled that it is not competent to review the substance of the “International Agreement” for compatibility with the Constitution.

The Court held, unanimously, that the Law No. 06/L-060 on Ratification of the Agreement and the procedure for its adoption were not in contradiction with the Constitution. The Court also unanimously rejected the Applicants’ request to review the International Agreement on Demarcation of the State Border between the Republic of Kosovo and Montenegro as being incompatible ratione materiae with the Constitution and thus outside of the scope of the Court’s jurisdiction.