Decisions from the review session held on 19 July 2019

In the review session held on 19 July 2019, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Kosovo reviewed and decided on the Referrals: 1. KO 65/19; 2. KI 135/18; 3. KI 145/18; and 4. KI 149/18, 5. KI 150/18, 6. KI 151/18, 7. KI 152/18, 8. KI 153/18 and 9. KI 154/18. Below you can read the brief summaries of the Court’s decisions (full texts of resolutions and judgments will be submitted to the parties, will be published on the Court’s website and in the Official Gazette during the following days)

1. Decision on extension of Interim Measure
Case: KO 65/19
Applicant: The Ombudsperson

The subject matter of the Referral is the constitutional review of the challenged Articles of Law No. 06/L-010 on Notary, which according to the Applicant’s allegations are not in compliance with Article 5 [Languages] and with paragraphs 1 and 3 of Article 46 [Protection of Property] of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo. The Applicant further requests that the Constitutional Court of Kosovo imposes an interim measure and suspend the application of the challenged articles until the final decision of this Court, claiming that “the Referral is prima facie grounded and challenged articles of the challenged law cause irreparable damage to certain entities …”.
The Referral was based on paragraph 2, subparagraph 1, Article 113 (Jurisdiction and Authorized Parties) and paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 116 (Legal Effect of Decisions) of the Constitution, Articles 22, 27, 29 and 30 of Law on the Constitutional Court (No. 03/L-121), as well as Rules 32, 56 and 57 of the Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court.
– The Court, in accordance with Article 116.2 of the Constitution, Article 27 of the Law on the Constitutional Court and Rules 56 and 57 of the Rules of Procedure, decided to extend the time-limit of the Interim Measure, imposed by the Court in its initial decision of 20 May 2019, for a further period of (3) months until 21 October 2019.

2. Judgment
Case: KI 135/18
Applicant: Hava Simnica

The subject matter of the Referral was the constitutional review of the challenged judgment, which allegedly violated the Applicant’s rights guaranteed by Articles 22 [Direct Applicability of International Agreements and Instruments], 3 and 24 [Equality Before the Law], 31 [Right to Fair and Impartial Trial] of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, as well as Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Referral was based on paragraphs 1 and 7 of Article 113 [Jurisdiction and the Authorized Parties] of the Constitution, Articles 22 [Processing Referrals] and 47 [Individual Requests] of Law on the Constitutional Court (No. 03/L-121) and Rule 32 [Filing of Referrals and Replies] of the Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court.
– The Court, in accordance with Article 113.7 of the Constitution, Article 20 of the Law on the Constitutional Court and Rule 59 (1) of the Rules of Procedure, unanimously decided:
   – To declare the referral admissible;
   – To hold violation of Article 31 [Right to Fair and Impartial Trial] of the Constitution, in conjunction with Article 6.1 [Right to a fair trial] of the ECHR;
   – To declare invalid Judgment No. 112/2018 of the Supreme Court of 7 May 2013, and remand the latter for retrial in compliance with the Judgment of the Court;

3. Judgment
Case: KI 145/18
Applicants: Shehide Muhadri, Murat Muhadri and Sylë Ibrahimi

The subject matter of the Referral was the constitutional review of the challenged decision, which allegedly violated the Applicants’ rights guaranteed by Articles 3 and 24 [Equality Before the Law] of the Constitution, as well as Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, in conjunction with Article 31 of the Constitution.
The Referral was based on paragraphs 1 and 7 of Article 113 [Jurisdiction and the Authorized Parties] of the Constitution, Articles 22 [Processing Referrals] and 47 [Individual Requests] of Law on the Constitutional Court (No. 03/L-121) and Rule 32 [Filing of Referrals and Replies] of the Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court.
– The Court, in accordance with Article 113.7 of the Constitution, Article 20 of the Law and Rule 59 (1) of the Rules of Procedure, unanimously decided:
   – To declare the referral admissible;
   – To hold violation of Article 31 [Right to Fair and Impartial Trial] of the Constitution, in conjunction with Article 6.1 [Right to a fair trial] of the ECHR;
   – To declare invalid Judgment No. 530/2016 of the Court of Appeals of 18 June 2018 and remand the latter for retrial in compliance with the Judgment of the Court;

4-9. Decision
Case: KI 149/18, KI 150/18, KI 151/18, KI 152/18, KI 153/18 and KI 154/18
Applicant: Xhavit Aliu and 5 others

The subject matter of the Referrals was the constitutional review of the 6 decisions of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kosovo, which allegedly violated the rights of the Applicants guaranteed by Articles 21 [General Principles], 22 [Direct Applicability of International Agreements and Instruments], 53 [Interpretation of Human Rights Provisions] and 54 [Judicial Protection of Rights] of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, Article 6 (Right to a fair trial) of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The Referrals were based on paragraph 7 of Article 113 [Jurisdiction and the Authorized Parties] of the Constitution, Articles 22 [Processing Referrals] and 47 [Individual Requests] of Law on the Constitutional Court (No. 03/L-121) and Rule 32 [Filing of Referrals and Replies] of the Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court.
– The Court unanimously decided that:
   – Referrals KI151/18, KI152/18, KI153/18, KI154/18, be declared inadmissible, in accordance with Rule 39 (2) of the Rules of Procedure;
   – Referral KI149/18 be declared inadmissible, in accordance with Articles 49 and 50 of the Law and Rule 39 (1) (c) of the Rules of Procedure;
   – Referral KI150/18 be declared inadmissible, in accordance with Article 47 of the Law and Rule 39 (1) (a) of the Rules of Procedure.