The Newly Established Constitutional Court in Post-Status Kosovo: Selected Institutional and Procedural Concerns

Abstract

In this article, the author first looks at recent constitutional developments in post-status Kosovo by providing an overview of Kosovo's constitutional system from the perspective of both the Constitution and the Comprehensive Proposal for the Kosovo Status Settlement prepared by UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari. The author then explores the foundations of the constitutional review in Kosovo and provides an overview of the process pertaining to the establishment of the 2008 Constitutional Court in Kosovo. After analyzing organizational and jurisdiction-related matters of the Court, the article addresses selected procedural concerns that triggered a lively debate among the framers of the Constitutional Court Act. In particular, the author addresses the right of judges to attach dissenting opinions and whether the publication of such opinions is appropriate in the context of this newly born constitutional democracy. Finally, the author concludes that the lack of a tradition of judicial review and the complex nature of certain morally or politically controversial issues related to finding a constitutional compromise—satisfying both the Settlement and the Constitution—will inevitably make the mission of the Court a very challenging one.