The Group for Legal and Policy Studies (GLPS) has assessed that the Draft Law on the State Bureau for Verification and Confiscation of Unjustified Assets, approved in first reading by the Assembly of Kosovo, contains legal ambiguities and does not fully address the previous findings of the Constitutional Court and the recommendations of the Venice Commission.
Menaxheri i projekteve dhe hulumtuesi në GLPS, Liridon Salihi ka thënë se projektligji duhet të rishikohet në mënyrë thelbësore para miratimit përfundimtar, duke theksuar se paqartësitë kryesore lidhen me periudhën retroaktive të zbatimit, statusin e Byrosë dhe sigurinë juridike të qytetarëve që mund t’i nënshtrohen procedurave të konfiskimit.
"Yes, first of all, we must emphasize that this draft law has twice failed to move forward from the Constitutional Court, so once it was rejected due to its content, and the other time due to the approval procedure. Despite what was also in the public consultation procedure, we assess that the Ministry of Justice has not managed to address all the issues that were raised during the public consultation period. So we have the approval of a draft law in first reading, which has not addressed the main issues that are intended to be regulated by this draft law," said Salihi.
One of the issues that, according to him, requires clarification is the retroactive period of application of the law, as the draft law does not clearly define which categories of officials will be included in the procedures for the verification and confiscation of unjustified assets.
“Edhe në analizën e GLPS-së kemi theksuar se aktualisht ky projektligj nuk e ka caktuar afatin retroaktiv. Pra, për cilët zyrtarë do të aplikohet masa e tillë ose konfiskimi i pasurisë së pajustifikueshme, pra ata zyrtarë që kanë qenë nga 2008-ta deri më tani, apo për zyrtarët që në 10 vjetët e fundit kanë mbajtur pozita publike, ose edhe ata që para 5 vjetësh kanë lëshuar ato pozita. Pra janë tri afate të cilat aktualisht i ka projektligji për Byronë dhe normalisht që kjo duhet të sqarohet njëherë e mirë për shkak se cenon sigurinë juridike të qytetarëve”, ka deklaruar ai.
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Salihi has also raised concerns about the legal status of the Bureau, saying that the draft law does not clearly define its organization and the criteria for selecting the director and members of the Supervisory Commission.
"Second, we have to do with the status of the Bureau. The current draft law does not clearly define the status of the Bureau, it does not present strict rules regarding the election of the director and the supervisory commission of this mechanism. So it has failed so far to address these issues that are crucial. And the other is that, normally, one of the main ones is the legal security of citizens," said Salihi.
He emphasized that the provisions of the draft law must be in line with the findings of the Constitutional Court, particularly regarding the storage of financial data, as well as with the opinions of the Venice Commission.
"So given that the Constitutional Court in its first decision on the legality or assessment of this draft law has emphasized that banks in Kosovo or other financial institutions do not store data for a long period of time, namely seven to 10 years, then we must be careful that the provisions contained in this draft law are in line with those of the findings of the Constitutional Court. We must also bear in mind that the opinions of Venice have in many cases not been taken into account," he stated.
However, Salihi said that the creation of a mechanism for the civil confiscation of unjustified property is possible, but only if the law guarantees respect for constitutional principles and citizens' rights.
"But what is completely important in this, in this entire procedure, is that now, both from our Constitutional Court and from the opinions of Venice, Kosovo has been given the green light to create such a civil confiscation mechanism, but the issue remains to be regulated with a law that guarantees all the constitutional principles and guarantees that the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo provides. In the current content of the draft law, it is normal that a fundamental review is needed by the Legislation Committee, as well as other committees, and that when it goes to the second reading and if it is approved by the Assembly, at least these dilemmas should be removed and it should be in line with the findings of the Constitutional Court and those of the opinions of Venice," he said.
Assessing the current content of the draft law, the GLPS researcher said that there are grounds to challenge it again if the identified ambiguities are not addressed.
"In reality, the current draft of the bill contains all those dilemmas and legal ambiguities that it had in the past when it was passed by the Constitutional Court. So there is sufficient basis to contest it because it has not yet addressed the findings of the Constitutional Court, as well as those stated by the Venice Commission. So, while it has not been clearly defined what the retroactive period of the law will be, what the status of the Bureau and the criteria for selecting the director and members of the Supervisory Commission will be, and the issue of legal certainty of the parties who will be subject to such a procedure has not been clearly defined, there are three elements that are essential and the bill cannot be passed without properly addressing these findings. GLPS has offered concrete recommendations for each of them and the dilemmas, and what has been done so far, we assess that neither the Ministry nor the Legislation Committee have taken it seriously when it passed the Assembly in the first reading," he stated. Salihi.
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He expressed hope that these issues will be addressed before the end of the parliamentary procedure, describing the fight against corruption as one of the reasons for the creation of such a mechanism, but demanding that its implementation be carried out within constitutional guarantees.
Kuvendi i Kosovës e ka miratuar në lexim të parë Projektligjin për Byronë Shtetërore për Verifikimin dhe Konfiskimin e Pasurisë së Pajustifikueshme më 5 tetor 2026. Projektligji mori 81 vota për, asnjë kundër dhe asnjë abstenim.\
