Notification on the decisions from the review session held on 22 September 2021

In its review session held on 22 September 2021, the Court decided to issue Decisions on Non-enforcement of its Judgments: KI 56/09, Judgment of 22 September 2010, with applicant: Fadil Hoxha and 59 others; and KI 132/15, Judgment of 19 May 2016, with applicant: Deçani Monastery.

Based on article 116 [Legal Effect of Decisions] of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, the decisions of the Constitutional Court are binding on the judiciary and all persons and institutions of the Republic of Kosovo. Pursuant on this article of the Constitution and on rule 66 (Enforcement of decisions) of the Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court, the Court through its mechanisms periodically assesses the enforcement of its judgments and in case of non-enforcement of a decision, it may issue a Decision on Non-enforcement stating that the respective decision has not been enforced. Such decision is published in the Official Gazette and the State Prosecutor is informed.

Based on the procedure followed by the Court with respect to the monitoring of the enforcement of its decisions, the Court has found that the two respective Judgments have not been enforced and consequently it has notified the State Prosecutor.

I. In the case of the Court’s Judgment KI 56/09, the applicants had challenged the Decision [01/011-3257] of 30 April 2009 of the Municipal Assembly of Prizren on changing the Urban Plan for the neighborhood Jaglenica (now Dardania), alleging violation of the fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed by Articles: 45 [Freedom of Election and Participation], 52 [Responsibility for the Environment] and 124 [Local Self-Government Organization and Operation] of the Constitution. After assessing the Applicants’ allegations, the Court had found that the challenged Decision had been rendered in violation of the guarantees reflected in paragraph 2 of Article 52 of the Constitution, thereby requesting the Municipal Assembly of Prizren to submit to the Court information about measures taken to enforce Judgment KI56/09 within a period of six (6) months.

II. In the case of the Court’s Judgment KI 132/15, the applicant had challenged two Decisions of the Appellate Panel of the Special Chamber of the Supreme Court on Privatization Agency of Kosovo Related Matters, namely Decisions [no. AC-I-13-0008] and [AC-I-13-0009] of 12 June 2015, alleging a violation of the fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed by Articles: 24 [Equality before the Law], 31 [Right to Fair and Impartial Trial], 32 [Right to Legal Remedies], 46 [Protection of Property], 54 [Judicial Protection of Rights] of the Constitution and article 13 (Right to an effective remedy) of the European Convention on Human Rights. After assessing the applicant’s allegations, the Court found that the two challenged Decisions of 12 June 2015 of the Appellate Panel of the Special Chamber of the Supreme Court, are null and void, whereas the two Decisions of the Specialized Panel on Ownership of the Special Chamber of the Supreme Court of 27 December 2012, namely Decisions [No. SCC-08-0226] and [No. SCC-08-0227], are final and binding, and as such are res judicata.

In accordance with paragraph (8) of rule 66 of the Rules of Procedure, the Court has continuously monitored on the implementation of these two Judgments through its mechanisms and through the exchange of letters with the parties involved in the respective cases, which are reflected in the published Decisions on Non-enforcement. After the evaluation of the updated information pertaining to the enforcement of the Judgments KI56/09 and KI132/15, the Court unanimously (i) determined that they have not been enforced because the responsible authorities have not taken the necessary measures for their full enforcement as required by article 116 of the Constitution; and (ii) decided to notify the State Prosecutor of the two Decisions on Non-enforcement.

The Constitutional Court reiterates that the enforcement of its decisions is an obligation for all persons and institutions of the Republic of Kosovo pursuant to article 116 of the Constitution. Furthermore, the enforcement of final decisions is a fundamental principle of the rule of law, as a core value of the constitutional order of the Republic of Kosovo, as stipulated in Articles 3 [Equality before the law] and 7 [Values] of the Constitution.

Note:

This press release was prepared by the Secretariat of the Court for informational purposes only. The full text of the decisions have been served to the parties involved in the case, are published on the Court’s website and will be published on the Official Gazette within set deadlines.
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