A monastery, Kosovo courts and the road to the Council of Europe - Memo on Decani

The bigger question: how does the rule of law and the implementation of judgements in Kosovo function today? The high stakes: by solving this, Kosovo opens the door to joining the Council of Europe, the leading European institution for human rights protection. [...] It ordered the re-registering these parcels in the cadaster in the name of the socially-owned enterprises. [...] Kosovo Supreme Court and Constitutional Court But did UNMIK have the right to conclude such a settlement with the monastery? Between 2009 and 2016, this issue was adjudicated in the Kosovo Supreme Court and in the Kosovo Constitutional Court, with a clear result: – In March 2009, the Kosovo Supreme Court ruled that UNMIK/KTA had “the sole right to represent the interests of the [socially-owned] en. [...] ESI wrote about it at the time: 47 again? Russia out, Kosovo in Support Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe The Committee of Ministers referred the application to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in April 2023. [...] As it lies within the Special Protective Zone it is closed to any development that puts at risk “the monastic way of life.” www.esiweb.org 8 Sincere collaboration To join the Council of Europe, members need to make a commitment: “Every member of the Council of Europe must accept the principles of the rule of law and the enjoyment by all persons within its jurisdiction of human rights and fundament.