The speech of Acting Chief State Prosecutor, Mr. Besim Kelmendi, on holding the Annual Conference of Prosecutors
Honorable President of the Supreme Court, Mrs. Hello Mema,
Dear representatives of the US Embassy in Kosovo, Mr. John Hanley and Mr. Erin Cox,
Honorable Chairman of the Judicial Council, Mr. Albert Zogaj,
Honorable Chairman of the Prosecution Council, Mr. Jetish Maloku,
Honorable former Chief State Prosecutor, Mr. Aleksander Lumezi,
Dear members of the Kosovo Prosecution Council,
Dear chief prosecutors and state prosecutors,
Dear administrators of the prosecution offices,
Dear participants,
It is a privilege and pleasure for me, in the capacity of Acting Chief State Prosecutor, to address you at the Annual Conference of Prosecutors and thank you for responding to the invitation to participate in this important event, organized by the institution of State Prosecutor.
The introductory speech of mine will be focused on the achievements and challenges of the State Prosecutor during 2022.
Credible international relations show that Kosovo has achieved significant results in the rule of law, not only in the region but also at the world wide, where the Prosecution System has played a decisive role in these successes.
Those who have continuously criticized and continue to criticize the Prosecution System are also accepting these recent successes. Arrests of public officials, seizures, the destruction of some criminal groups and the destruction of some laboratories for the processing of narcotics, are just some of the successes that the representatives of other powers in Kosovo talk about, and this is a better argument that even those who criticize us and recognize successes of our work.
During 2022, the State Prosecutor received 50,998 criminal reports, while he managed to resolve 44,247 criminal reports, or 86.76% of the cases received during the reporting period.
Based on the indicators of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ), the number of cases resolved in relation to the number of cases received during this period, it results that the rate of resolution of cases by the State Prosecutor is 87.00%.
Likewise, the State Prosecutor has paid attention to alternative procedures, where has solved 1,769 cases involving 3,029 people with known perpetrators. While, during 2022, 3,179 cases were resolved with a punitive order.
Regarding the cases of corruption and economic crime, the State Prosecutor in 2022 received 1,077 cases with 1,894 people, while solving 792 cases with 1,384 people or 73.53%. On the other hand, for cases of economic crime, 462 cases with 673 people were admitted to work, while 411 cases with 582 people or 88.96% were resolved.
The value of the assets frozen and seized during 2022 was €20,728,965.42, while the final confiscation by the courts was €669,765.14.
For criminal offenses of organized crime, during the past year, the State Prosecutor received 25 new cases with 145 people, while 21 cases with 120 people were solved. During this period, in relation to the indictments raised by the State Prosecutor, the courts have decided the cases for 19 people, of which 16 people have been found guilty.
In addition, 5 new cases were targeted, bringing the number of identified cases to 84. Several cases have been added to this number this year.
During 2022, the State Prosecutor has handled terrorism cases more seriously, where 10 cases involving 48 people have been solved.
The State Prosecutor has handled the cases of human trafficking as a priority, where during 2022, 55 cases involving 78 people were solved.
As for the cases of domestic violence, during the reporting period, in addition to cases that were inherited, 2,977 new cases with 3,481 people were received. Giving priority to solving these cases, the State Prosecutor has solved 3,015 cases involving 3,610 people.
Another success achieved is the handling of cases where there were indictments and proposals for the imposition of mandatory handling measures, the State Prosecutor has resolved 19,812 such cases.
A very optimistic data is also the fact related to the indictments brought by the State Prosecutor, during this period, the courts have decided on 15,760 cases, of which 14,912 cases were sentencing decisions, namely compulsory measures.
The court decisions regarding the indictments, which were exercised by all the basic prosecution offices and the Special Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Kosovo, in 94.62% of the cases ended with guilty verdicts.
Although we have often heard criticism about poorly drafted indictments sent to the courts, I must emphasize that the decisions of the courts, which are the only institutions that evaluate the indictments of prosecutors in criminal proceedings, best testify to the quality of the indictments of state prosecutors. Nevertheless, we should not be satisfied about the quality, because there is still a lot of work to be done in order to achieve even greater success in the drafting and good representation of our indictments in court.
Even the Office for the Assistance and Advocacy Victims, which operates within the Office of the Chief State Prosecutor, has provided services and assistance to victims of crime, handling 2,847 cases of domestic violence, sexual harassment and assault, human trafficking, rape, prostitution and other cases.
Regarding the successes achieved, I would like to say that the joint teamwork of prosecutors and investigating police officers has sent clear messages to all members of criminal groups that they cannot be placed above state institutions.
We are aware that the threats to justice and security, in particular those arising from organized crime, terrorism and money laundering, cannot be solved by a single country alone, therefore we need regional and international cooperation, because we have seen that these criminal offenses cross national borders and pose a danger to our country as well. This is not only a challenge, but also an obligation of our country. Therefore, in 2022, in addition to the continuous cooperation with our international partners, in particular the USA and the EU, we managed to have official cooperation with EUROJUST for the first time.
Considering the importance of international cooperation, we have paid special attention to all requests for international legal assistance that have come from other countries.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the US Embassy, the EU Office, EULEX, the Embassies of friendly countries located in Kosovo, who have contributed to increasing the independence, impartiality, accountability and transparency of the Prosecution System of Kosovo, in accordance with international standards, because our goal is for these standards to be part of our daily work.
The fact that we have support from international partners, especially from the United States of America, gives us the right to believe that in the future our cooperation will give concrete results in strengthening the rule of law.
I want to give a special thanks to the civil society, which has often had constructive positions, as was the case of their reaction to the drastic reduction of salaries for prosecutors and judges, but also making positive criticism of the Prosecution System. These criticisms have been and will be an impetus to improve our work in the interest of citizens and justice.
As for transparency, we have made efforts so that no one, who has a legal interest, is left without receiving an answer in accordance with the legal provisions in force. The professional relationship with the media and public opinion is not only an obligation, but also a need of the time, because this is the only way we can improve the image of the State Prosecutor, which continues to be at an unsatisfactory level.
It would be a mistake to say that we have accomplished all that we have planned, because even though we have done enough, it does not mean that we have done enough. I want to draw attention to the fact that we need to be more proactive, especially in the investigation of cases of high-level corruption, because the consequences of corruption for society are very large, corruption reduces the possibilities of Euro-Atlantic integration of Kosovo, weakens the credibility of citizens in decision-making, makes justice inefficient and seriously damages all sectors of life, including foreign investments, therefore the negligence of handling these cases is not only tolerable but will also be punishable. In this regard, the State Prosecutor should be a good example for preventing and fighting corruption and not a target of attacks and a reason for damaging the image of the State Prosecutor.
Another challenge of the prosecutorial system continues to be the confiscation of illegally obtained property, despite the fact that during 2022, assets in the amount of €20,728,965.42 were seized, the final confiscation by the courts in the amount of €669,765.14, continues to be far from the figures of the seizure and freezing. This presents a challenge which the sooner it is addressed the better it will be for society, otherwise our image will weaken even more, while our responsibility will be even greater, so I call on you that the cases of confiscation should be treated with priority and professionalism, because the key to success in the fight against organized crime and corruption lies in the confiscation of illegal assets from criminal groups.
Regarding war crimes, we are aware that the prosecution during the time of UNMIK and EULEX did not achieve satisfactory results, but in the PSRK, positive steps have already been taken to strengthen the Department of War Crimes, being carried out throughout the systematization of these cases and raising all the capacities for the investigation of these cases, in accordance with the Strategy for the investigation of war crimes.
Dear attendees,
During the past year, an important topic was also the issue of vetting in the judicial system.
As you know, the position of the Prosecution and Judicial System was very clear and in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo and international standards.
We have agreed that any reform in justice should be done through laws and not through constitutional changes, because the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo is the biggest guarantee for vetting the Prosecution and Judicial System from prosecutors and judges who commit criminal offenses and commit serious violations of duty. Therefore, all those who have knowledge of such prosecutors and judges have a legal obligation to submit these cases to the prosecution office for criminal investigations or to the responsible authorities for disciplinary responsibility, otherwise those who have knowledge of these cases and do not present them, they bear criminal responsibility for concealing or not presenting these cases.
In the end, I want to thank all the state prosecutors, professional associates, legal officers and all the staff of the State Prosecutor, who with their work served the Prosecution System and justice.
I hope that in the future you will show greater dedication, professionalism, integrity and responsibility in fulfilling constitutional and legal duties and that you will play a more active role in strengthening independence, impartiality, transparency and accountability, in in order to strengthen citizens’ trust in the Prosecution System.
Moreover, at the very end, I wish and hope that as soon as possible we will have a Chief State Prosecutor appointed with a full mandate, who must have all our support to lead the institution of the State Prosecutor and the Prosecution System to even greater successes.
Thank you for your attention and I wish this Conference to go well!
Prishtina,
March 25, 2023
