The Constitutional Court’s Guide on admissibility criteria for individual referrals

The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Kosovo has published the “Practical Guide on admissibility criteria: Individual referrals”, which aims to inform the applicants, their representatives, and the legal community in general, on the admissibility criteria of individual referrals submitted to this court.

While the number of referrals registered on an annual basis and the complexity of the cases under review before the Constitutional Court keeps increasing, over the years there has been an almost repeated trend of the number of referrals declared inadmissible in relation to those decided on merits.

For example, in the year we left behind, the Court decided with Judgments in 33 cases, while it rendered 147 Resolutions on Inadmissibility. Similarly, in 2022, Judgments were rendered in 20 cases, while another 134 cases were decided with Resolutions on Inadmissibility. In 2021, 32 Referrals were decided with Judgments, while in 176 cases, the Court decided with Resolutions on Inadmissibility. Given that about 90% of the referrals under consideration before the Court are individual referrals, the vast majority of Resolutions on Inadmissibility over the years refer precisely to individual referrals.

While this trend can be attributed to various factors, in the Strategic Plan of the Constitutional Court (2021-2025), the Court has set as a strategic goal the increase in the quality of decisions and the efficiency of decision-making, identifying the building of external capacities regarding the issue of the admissibility of referrals as one of the strategic objectives of the strategic goal in question. By this publication, which will be updated on a regular basis, the Court aims at providing the parties before the Court and the legal community in particular with a resource that codifies and elaborates the case law of the Court in terms of the admissibility criteria of individual referrals, as established in the Constitution and further detailed in the Law on the Constitutional Court and the Rules of Procedure of the Court.

By elaborating on the Court’s case law related to the admissibility criteria of an individual referral submitted in relation to paragraph 7 of Article 113 [Jurisdiction and Authorized Parties] of the Constitution, this Guide, among other things, aims to (i) guide applicants and/or their legal representatives about the preparation of referrals; (ii) reducing the number of referrals submitted to the Constitutional Court, which do not meet the procedural criteria to be examined on the merits; and therefore (iii) the increase in the number of admissible referrals, which may be subject to further assessment on merits.

Taking into account the importance of understanding the admissibility criteria by the parties before the Court, so that their referrals have the opportunity to be subjected to further consideration on the merits, this Practical Guide aims to clarify the case law of the Constitutional Court regarding interpretation of admissibility criteria for individual referrals.

In seven substantive chapters and relying on the case law of the Constitutional Court and, in some cases, that of the European Court of Human Rights, this Guide outlines and elaborates certain criteria and aspects regarding the admissibility of individual referrals. The admissibility criteria of individual referrals, as they originate from the Constitution and the Law on the Constitutional Court, and which are detailed in the Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court and illustrated through case law, are presented here organized in thematic groups and subgroups.

However, it should be noted that the Guide is informative in nature and the details of any reference in it must be understood and interpreted in the context of the factual and legal circumstances of the relevant case. The content of the Guide is not exhaustive. This document elaborates the admissibility criteria based on the case law of the Court, insofar as it is consolidated at the time of its publication.

Regarding those cases which have not yet been dealt with by the Court and therefore its case law is not elaborated, the Guide refers to the relevant case law of the European Court of Human Rights. Taking into account the dynamic nature and constant development of case law, this Guide, as well as the similar Guide of the European Court of Human Rights, will be subject to continuous updating.

The Practical Guide was prepared by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Kosovo, while its drafting was supported by the contribution of the Kosovo Law Institute (KLI) and under the commitment and financial support of the Office of the Council of Europe in Pristina.

To read the “Practical Guide on admissibility criteria: Individual referrals” please click here