Notification on the decisions from the review session held on 28 April 2021

28.04.2021

In the review session held on 28 April 2021, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Kosovo reviewed the Referrals: 1. KI 51/19; 2. KI 74/19; 3. KI 111/19; 4. KI 136/19; 5. KI 186/19, KI 187/19, KI 200/19 and KI 208/19; 6. KI 235/19; 7. KI 09/20; 8. KI 113/20; 9. KI 188/20; 10. KI 09/21 and 11. KI 21/21. Below you can read the brief summaries of decisions (full texts of decisions will be submitted to the parties, will be published on the Court’s website and in the Official Gazette during the following days):

1. Case: KI 51/19
Applicant: Qamil Lupçi

The subject matter of the Referral was the constitutional review of the Judgment [ARJ. UZVP. no. 37/2018] of the Supreme Court of Kosovo, of 5 December 2018, in conjunction with Judgment [AA. no. 97/2018] of the Court of Appeals of Kosovo, of 10 October 2018, and Judgment [A. No. 724/16] of the Basic Court in Prishtina, of 6 September 2017. The subject matter was also the constitutional review of the Decision [no. 2379] of the Appeals Commission of the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (MLSW) of 5 May 2016 and the Decision [A/02/68/2016] of the Independent Oversight Board for the Civil Service of Kosovo, of 12 April 2016, whereby the Appeals Commission of the MLSW was ordered to issue a meritorious decision concerning the request of the Applicant.
The Applicant alleged that the challenged decisions violated his rights and freedoms, guaranteed by Article 31 [Right to Fair and Impartial Trial] and Article 46 [Protection of Property] of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, in conjunction with Article 6 (Right to a fair trial) of the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The Referral was based on paragraphs 1 and 7 of Article 113 of the Constitution, Articles 22 [Processing the Referral] and 47 [Individual Requests] of Law No. 03/L-121 on the Constitutional Court, and Rule 32 [Submission of Referrals and Responses] of the Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court.
– The Court, in accordance with Article 113.7 of the Constitution, Article 20 and 47 of the Law on the Constitutional Court and Rule 59 (1) and 66 (5) of the Rules of Procedure,

DECIDES

I. TO DECLARE the Referral admissible;

II. TO HOLD that there has been violation of Article 31 [Right to Fair and Impartial Trial] of the Constitution in conjunction with paragraph 1 of Article 6 [Right to a fair trial] of the European Convention on Human Rights;

III. TO REMAND the case for effective resolution to the competent Commission of the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, in accordance with the Decision [A/02/68/2016] of the Independent Oversight Board for the Civil Service of Kosovo, of 12 April 2016, as confirmed by the decisions of regular courts;

IV. TO REQUEST from the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, that in accordance with Rule 66 (5) of the Rules of Procedure, to notify the Court, not later than 11 October 2021, on the measures taken to implement the Judgment of the Court;

V. TO REJECT the request for a court hearing;

VI. TO REMAIN strongly committed to this issue pending compliance with that request;

2. Case: KI 74/19
Applicant: “SUVA Rechtsabteillung”

The subject matter of the Referral was the constitutional review of the Judgment [E. Rev. no. 39/2018] of the Supreme Court of Kosovo, of 8 January 2019, in conjunction with Judgment [Ae. no. 91/2016] of the Court of Appeals of Kosovo, of 31 August 2018, and Judgment [III. C. no. 506/2012] of the Basic Court of Prishtina, of 8 February 2016. The Applicant alleged that the challenged decision violated its fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed by Article 31 [Right to Fair and Impartial Trial] of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, in conjunction with Article 6 (Right to a fair trial) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Referral was based on paragraph 4 of Article 21 [General Principles] and paragraphs 1 and 7 of Article 113 [Jurisdiction and Authorized Parties] of the Constitution, Articles 22 [Processing Referrals] and 47 [Individual Requests] of Law No. 03/L-121 on the Constitutional Court, as well as Rule 32 [Filing of Referrals and Replies] of the Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court.
– The Court, in accordance with Articles 21.4 and 113.7 of the Constitution, Articles 20 and 47 of the Law on the Constitutional Court and Rule 59 (1) of the Rules of Procedure,

DECIDES

I. TO DECLARE unanimously, the Referral admissible;

II. TO HOLD by majority of votes that there has been no violation of Article 31 [Right to Fair and Impartial Trial] of the Constitution and Article 6 (Right to a fair trial) of the ECHR;

3. Case: KI 111/19
Applicant: Insurance Company “SUVA Rechtsabteillung”

The subject matter of the Referral was the constitutional review of the Judgment [E. Rev. no. 1/2019] of the Supreme Court of Kosovo, of 27 February 2019, by which the Applicant alleged that its fundamental rights and freedoms, guaranteed by Articles 31 [Right to Fair and Impartial Trial] of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, in conjunction with Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, have been violated.
The Referral was based on paragraph 4 of Article 21 [General Principles] and paragraph 1 and 7 of Article 113 [Jurisdiction and Authorized Parties] of the Constitution, Articles 22 [Processing Referrals] and 47 [Individual Requests] of Law No. 03/L-121 on the Constitutional Court, as well as Rule 32 [Filing of Referrals and Replies] of the Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court.
– The Court, in accordance with Articles 21.4 and 113.7 of the Constitution, Articles 20 and 47 of the Law on the Constitutional Court and Rule 59 (1) of the Rules of Procedure,

DECIDES

I. TO DECLARE unanimously, the Referral admissible;

II. TO HOLD by a majority of votes, that the Judgement, E. Rev. no. 1/2019, of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kosovo, of 27 February 2019, is in accordance with Article 31 [Right to Fair and Impartial Trial] of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo and Article 6 [Right to fair trial] of the European Convention on Human Rights;

4. Case: KI 136/19
Applicant: “CO COLINA” LLC

The subject matter of the Referral was the constitutional review of Article 1 of the Law [No.06/L-155] on the Prohibition of Games of Chance. The Applicant alleged that the challenged article violated its fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed by Article 46 [Protection of Property] of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo and Article 1 of the Protocol 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Referral was based on Articles 21.4 and 113.7 of the Constitution, Article 47 of Law No. 03/L-121 on the Constitutional Court, as well as Rule 29 of the Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court.
– The Review Panel proposed that, in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 7 of Article 113 of the Constitution, Articles 20, 47 and 49 of the Law on the Constitutional Court and Rules 39 (1)(b) and 59 (2) of the Rules of Procedure, the Referral be declared inadmissible.

5. Case: KI 186/19, KI 187/19, KI 200/19 and KI 208/19
Applicant: Belkize Vula Shala et al.

The subject matter of the Referral was the constitutional review of the Judgment [AC-I-13-0181-A0008], of the Appellate Panel of the Special Chamber of the Supreme Court of Kosovo on the Privatization Agency of Kosovo Related Matters, of 29 August 2019, whereby the Applicants alleged that their fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed by Articles: 24 [Equality Before the Law], 31 [Right to Fair and Impartial Trial] and 46 [Protection of Property] of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, and Article 6 (Right to a fair trial) and Article 1 (Protection of Property) of the Protocol no.1 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Referral was based on paragraphs 1 and 7 of Article 113 [Jurisdiction and Authorized Parties] of the Constitution, Articles 22 [Processing Referrals] and 47 (Individual Requests) of Law No. 03/L-121 on the Constitutional Court, as well as Rule 32 (Filing of Referrals and Replies) of the Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court.
– The Court, in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 7 of Article 113 of the Constitution, with Articles 20 and 47 of the Law on the Constitutional Court and Rule 59 (1)(a) of the Rules of Procedure:

DECIDES

I. TO DECLARE, by majority of votes, the Referral admissible;

II. TO HOLD by majority of votes that there has been violation of Article 31 [Right to Fair and Impartial Trial] of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, in conjunction with Article 6 (Right to a fair trial) of the European Convention on Human Rights;

III. TO DECLARE null and void the Judgment [AC-I-13-0181-A0008] of the Appellate Panel of the Special Chamber of the Supreme Court, of 29 August 2019;

IV. TO REMAND the case for retrial to the Appellate Panel of the Special Chamber of the Supreme Court, in accordance with the findings of this Judgment;

V. TO ORDER the Appellate Panel of the Special Chamber of the Supreme Court, that in accordance with Rule 66 (5) of the Rules of Procedure, to notify the Court, until 28 July 2021, on the measures taken to implement the Judgment of the Court;

6. Case: KI 235/19
Applicant: “Allianz Suisse Versicherungs- Gesellschaft AG”

The subject matter of the Referral was the constitutional review of the Judgment [E.Rev.no.32/2019] of the Supreme Court of Kosovo, of 31 July 2019, in conjunction with the Judgement [Ae.no.289/2017] of the Court of Appeals of Kosovo, of 31 January 2019 and Judgment [I.C.no.238/2015] of the Department of Economic Affairs of the Basic Court in Prishtina, of 31 October 2017. The Applicants alleged that the challenged decisions violated its fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed by Article 31 [Right to Fair and Impartial Trial] of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, in conjunction with Article 6 (Right to fair trial) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Referral was based on paragraph 4 of Article 21 [General Principles] and paragraphs 1 and 7 of Article 113 [Jurisdiction and Authorized Parties] of the Constitution, Articles 22 (Processing Referrals) and 47 (Individual Requests) of Law No. 03/L-121 on the Constitutional Court, as well as Rule 32 (Filing of Referrals and Replies) of the Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court.
– The Court, in accordance with Articles 21.4 and 113.7 of the Constitution, Articles 20 and 47 of the Law on the Constitutional Court and Rule 59 (1) of the Rules of Procedure:

DECIDES

I. TO DECLARE, unanimously, the Referral admissible;

II. TO HOLD by a majority of votes, that the Judgement, E.Rev.no.32/2019, of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kosovo, of 31 July 2019, is in accordance with Article 31 [Right to Fair and Impartial Trial] of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo and Article 6 [Right to fair trial] of the European Convention on Human Rights;

7. Case: KI 09/20
Applicant: “SUVA Rechtsabteillung”

The subject matter of the Referral was the constitutional review of the Judgment [E. Rev. No. 28/2019], of the Supreme Court of Kosovo, of 1 August 2019, in conjunction with Judgment [Ae.no.265/2017] of the Court of Appeals of Kosovo, of 5 February 2019, and Judgment [III. Ek. No. 249/2015] of the Department of Economic Affairs of the Basic Court in Prishtina, of 12 October 2017. The Applicant alleged that the challenged decision violated its fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed by Article 31 [Right to Fair and Impartial Trial] of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, in conjunction with Article 6 (Right to a fair trial) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Referral was based on paragraph 4 of Article 21 [General Principles] and paragraphs 1 and 7 of Article 113 [Jurisdiction and Authorized Parties] of the Constitution, Articles 22 [Processing Referrals] and 47 [Individual Requests] of Law No. 03/L-121 on the Constitutional Court, as well as Rule 32 [Filing of Referrals and Replies] of the Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court.
– The Court, in accordance with Articles 21.4 and 113.7 of the Constitution, Articles 20 and 47 of the Law on the Constitutional Court and Rule 59 (1) of the Rules of Procedure,

DECIDES

I. TO DECLARE, unanimously, the Referral admissible;

II. TO HOLD by majority of votes that the Judgement, E. Rev. no. 28/2019, of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kosovo, of 1 August 2019, is in accordance with Article 31 [Right to Fair and Impartial Trial] of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo and Article 6 [Right to fair trial] of the European Convention on Human Rights;

8. Case: KI 113/20
Applicant: IF Skadeforsikring, from Norway

The subject matter of the Referral was the constitutional review of the Judgment [E. Rev. no. 62/2020], of the Supreme Court of Kosovo, of 6 April 2020, whereby the Applicant alleged that its fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed by Article 31 [Right to Fair and Impartial Trial] of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, in conjunction with Article 6 [Right to a fair trial] of the European Convention on Human Rights, have been violated.
The Referral was based on paragraph 4 of Article 21 [General Principles] and paragraphs 1 and 7 of Article 113 [Jurisdiction and Authorized Parties] of the Constitution, Articles 22 [Processing Referrals] and 47 [Individual Requests] of Law No. 03/L-121 on the Constitutional Court, as well as Rule 32 [Filing of Referrals and Replies] of the Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court.
– The Court, in accordance with Articles 21.4 and 113.7 of the Constitution, Article 20 of the Law on the Constitutional Court, and Rules 39 (2) and 59 (1) of the Rules of Procedure,

DECIDES

I. TO DECLARE, unanimously, the Referral inadmissible;

II. TO HOLD by majority of votes that there has been no violation of Article 31 [Right to Fair and Impartial Trial] of the Constitution and Article 6 [Right to a fair trial] of the European Convention on Human Rights;

9. Case: KI 188/20
Applicant: “SUVA Rechtsabteillung”

The subject matter of the Referral was the constitutional review of the Judgment [Ae.no.63/2019] of the Court of Appeals of Kosovo, of 15 October 2020, in conjunction with Judgment [IV.EK.no.535/2015] of the Department of Economic Affairs of the Basic Court in Prishtina, of 3 January 2019. The Applicant alleged that the challenged decision violated its fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed by Article 31 [Right to Fair and Impartial Trial] of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, in conjunction with Article 6 (Right to a fair trial) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Referral was based on paragraph 4 of Article 21 [General Principles] and paragraphs 1 and 7 of Article 113 [Jurisdiction and Authorized Parties] of the Constitution, Articles 22 [Processing Referrals] and 47 [Individual Requests] of Law No. 03/L-121 on the Constitutional Court, as well as Rule 32 (Filing of Referrals and Replies) of the Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court.
– The Court, in accordance with Articles 21.4 and 113.7 of the Constitution, Articles 20 and 47 of the Law on the Constitutional Court, and Rule 59 (1) of the Rules of Procedure:

DECIDES

I. TO DECLARE, unanimously, the Referral admissible;

II. TO HOLD by majority of votes that the Judgement, Ae.no.63/2019, of the Court of Appeals of the Republic of Kosovo, of 15 October 2020, is in accordance with Article 31 [Right to Fair and Impartial Trial] of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo and Article 6 [Right to fair trial] of the European Convention on Human Rights;

10. Case: KI 09/21
Applicant: Sadat Lekiqi

The subject matter of the Referral was the constitutional review of the Notification of the Ad-hoc Parliamentary Commission of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo for the Selection of Candidates for Members of the Independent Oversight Board for the Civil Service of Kosovo, of 15 September 2020. The Applicant alleged that the challenged act violated his fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed by Articles: 21 [General Principles], 22 [Direct Applicability of International Agreements and Instruments], 24 [Equality Before the Law] and 49 [Right to Work and Exercise Profession] of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo and Articles: 13 (Right to an effective remedy), 14 (Prohibition of discrimination) and 17 (Prohibition of abuse of rights) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Referral was based on paragraphs 1 and 7 of Article 113 [Jurisdiction and Authorized Parties] of the Constitution, Articles 22 (Processing Referrals), 27 (Interim Measures) and 47 (Individual Requests) of Law No. 03/L-121 on the Constitutional Court, as well as Rules 32 (Filing of Referrals and Replies) and 56 (Request for Interim Measures) of the Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court.
– The Review Panel proposed that, in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 7 of Article 113 of the Constitution, Articles 20, 27 and 47.2 of the Law on the Constitutional Court and in accordance with Rules 39 (1)(b), 57 and 59 (2) of the Rules of Procedure, the Referral be declared inadmissible.

11. Case: KI 21/21
Applicant: Asllan Meka

The subject matter of the Referral was the constitutional review of the Decision [Ac. no. 4385/2020], of the Court of Appeals of Kosovo, of 15 December 2020, in conjunction with the Decision [PPP. No. 52/2020], of 15 July 2020, of the Civil Division of General Department of the Basic Court in Gjakova. The Applicant alleged that the challenged decision violated his fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed by Article 31 [Right to Fair and Impartial Trial] of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, in conjunction with Article 6 (Right to a fair trial) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and Article 32 [Right to Legal Remedies] of the Constitution, in conjunction with Article 13 (Right to an effective remedy) and Article 1 (Protection of Property) of the Protocol no.1 of the ECHR.
The Referral was based on paragraphs 1 and 7 of Article 113 [Jurisdiction and Authorized Parties] of the Constitution, Articles 22 [Processing Referrals], 27 [Interim Measures] and 47 [Individual Requests] of Law No. 03/L-121 on the Constitutional Court, as well as Rule 32 [Filing of Referrals and Replies] and 56 [Request for Interim Measures] of the Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court.
– The Review Panel proposed that, in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 7 of Article 113 of the Constitution, Articles 20, 27 and 47.2 of the Law on the Constitutional Court and in accordance with Rules 39 (1)(d) and (2), 57 (4) and 59 (2) of the Rules of Procedure, the Referral be declared inadmissible.