The Kosovo Democratic Institute (KDI) and the Group for Legal and Political Studies (GLPS) have condemned the treatment given to the draft law on the State Bureau for Verification and Confiscation of Unjustified Assets, describing the process as a violation of parliamentary procedures.
According to KDI, organizing an urgent public hearing "from today to tomorrow" conflicts with the rules for legislative hearings and limits the participation of citizens, civil society organizations, and experts in contributing to a functional and constitutional law.
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Letter to the Reader — Why We're Asking for Your Support ContributeThe organization emphasizes that the Legislation Committee has unnecessarily accelerated the procedures, making decisions without a full debate and without the participation of opposition MPs. The decision to hold a public hearing within a deadline of less than 24 hours, according to KDI, is in violation of the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly.
KDI refers to Article 38(7) of the Regulation, which provides that a public hearing shall not be held until at least five days have passed since its appointment, to allow time for interested parties to prepare and contribute in a meaningful manner.
KDI also criticizes the approach of the majority MPs in bypassing cooperation with civil society, describing this as a negative signal for inclusion in decision-making processes.
According to them, since the draft law has a direct impact on the fight against corruption and affects constitutional rights, the way the process is conducted is as important as its content.
Finally, KDI calls on the Assembly and the parliamentary majority to respect the procedures and ensure an open, inclusive and transparent process that guarantees real participation of all parties.
GLPS said that the process for the Bureau was accompanied by a lack of transparency, without proper consultations from both the Government and the Parliament.
"Since it is a new regulation and affects one of the fundamental human rights guaranteed by the Constitution, which is the right to property, this process should have been carried out with full transparency and broad public participation, including civil society, throughout the entire drafting process, including approval in the Assembly. On the contrary, this entire process has been characterized by a pronounced lack of transparency, without proper public consultations by the Government and now also by the Assembly, where the only public hearing was organized at the last moment without a clear structure and without enabling a meaningful review of the draft in terms of time. Such an approach undermines the minimum standards of public consultation and contradicts the fundamental principles of transparency, accountability and good regulation," their response states.
The public hearing on the Bureau is scheduled for tomorrow. On April 18, the Assembly supported in principle the draft law on the Bureau.