Originally published on the CGS blog on April 21, 2014.
What would you do if major figures in your government were suspected of or charged with war crimes? In Baltic States like Serbia, Bosnia, and Kosovo, this is not very uncommon; however, the difference between these countries comes from which of these figures are actually tried for their crimes. The ICTY (International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia) has put Serbian war criminals on trial since 1993. In Kosovo the rule-of-law is still too new to function perfectly, but many are calling for a more efficient court system to put the accused on trial safely and successfully.
After NATO-led airstrikes in 1999 led to the end of the war between Kosovo and Serbia, and since Kosovo’s declaration of independence in 2008, relations between the two nations have been far from perfect. Serbia to this day refuses to recognize Kosovo as an independent country (along with other major powers like Russia and Spain).
It is no secret that the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), which was the opposition to Milosevic’s troops, took part in violent acts against the Serbian military in order to end the Serbian oppression. More recently, however, it has been speculated that prominent Kosovo leaders, like Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi, were involved in much more serious war crimes like organ trafficking.
The EU-led rule-of-law mission in Kosovo (EULEX) has been in charge of most of the proceedings for the crimes that have taken place thus far. The proceedings led by EULEX do not take place in Kosovo, and they have no seat there either. They have, however, helped to establish a rule-of-law in Kosovo where it was severely lacking. The EULEX mission is set to expire on June 14, and that is leaving many people to question what will happen next.
It has been proposed that there should be a special court set up in Kosovo that would be run partly by EULEX, but that would also include Kosovo judges and have a seat in Kosovo (although more serious court proceedings would be held in Brussels). EU officials cite a need for this court in order to continue with investigations of speculated war crimes. The court would continue to have an EULEX influence, while also containing Kosovo judges.
U.S. officials like Tracey Ann Jacobson, the U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo, say that failure of Kosovo to adopt this court “would be potentially very damaging for Kosovo’s credibility and it would give a tool to those who want to question the legitimacy of Kosovo’s independence.” Kosovo is still hesitant because, as Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga says, Kosovo needs “an independent judicial process to close this difficult chapter in Kosovo’s history”.
So what does this mean for relations with Serbia? Tensions have eased since the signing of the Brussels Agreement in April 2013, which called for talks and larger cooperation between the two nations. Cooperation is a precondition for Serbia’s further progress toward entrance into the EU, which they have been after for some time. With Kosovo wanting to turn their small security force into an army, Serbia wants to pass a resolution that will enforce protection for Kosovar-Serbs in North Kosovo, which could mean a step back. But will the adoption of this court continue to ease tensions? Will Serbia find that prosecuting Kosovar-Albanians is a form of retribution and a step in the right direction?
It is clear that Serbia will not recognize Kosovo as an independent country any time soon, but perhaps the adoption of a special court will help Kosovo’s credibility as well as its future.
Kosovo’s parliament is to review the court proposal in May 2014.
