Kosovo shares borders with Serbia, North Macedonia, Albania, and Montenegro. It was the center of the Medieval Serbian Empire until its integration into the Ottoman Empire in the mid-15th century. During the Ottoman period, Islam spread among Kosovo’s inhabitants. As many residents of Serbian descent left for Serbia, they were replaced by Albanians, many of whom had been expelled by Serbia. Over time the majority Muslim population also became majority Albanian-speaking. However, Serbs continued to consider Kosovo, with its many Serbian Orthodox monasteries, the “cradle” of Serbian culture and identity. In the early 20th century, Kosovo was again formally incorporated into Serbia. The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenians became Yugoslavia in 1929, and in 1946, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Slovenia became the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
The 1974 Yugoslav Constitution recognized Kosovo as an “Autonomous Province within Serbia,” granting the region the same rights as the other republics within Yugoslavia but not self-governance. Kosovars considered themselves a separate nation and demanded full independence from Serbia. In 1989, Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic abolished Kosovo’s semi-autonomous status and imposed direct rule from Belgrade, instituting discriminatory, oppressive policies against ethnic Kosovars. When peaceful resistance failed, the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) became the voice of the population’s demand for independence. When the KLA retaliated against Serbian repression with its own violence, Serbia responded with force, including widespread atrocities. In the spring of 1999, NATO intervened and after a 78-day air campaign against Serbia, Milosevic capitulated. The UN Security Council established the UN Temporary Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) to administer the territory. Years of failed negotiations with Serbia ended when Kosovo unilaterally declared independence on February 17, 2008. While many Western countries immediately recognized Kosovo, a significant portion of the international community did not. The UN General Assembly referred the issue to the International Court of Justice. Although the ICJ ruled that Kosovo’s declaration of independence did not violate any applicable international law, Kosovo is not a fully recognized member of the United Nations.
Sources of Law and the Court System
Kosovo is a Parliamentary Republic with a civil law system and three separate branches of government. Sources of law include the constitution, international conventions, and supplementary regulations.
The Courts
Kosovo's judiciary has three levels: Basic Courts, the Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court.
Basic Courts
There are 7 basic (first instance) courts in Kosovo, organized geographically. Each of the seven regional basic courts has subdivisions, called branches, located in different cities. Within each court, there are departments for serious crimes, general crimes, and cases involving minors. Pristina, Kosovo’s capital city, has its own Basic Court with additional departments for first instance commercial and administrative cases. The Pristina administrative and commercial departments have jurisdiction over the entire country. All first instance cases are heard by a single judge, except for cases in the serious crimes department; cases in the serious crimes department are heard by a panel of three judges.
Court of Appeals
The Court of Appeals is located in Pristina. It hears appeals from Basic Court judgments and decides jurisdictional conflicts between first instance courts. The Court of Appeals has the following departments: general, crimes, serious crimes, administrative, commercial, and juvenile. Appeals are heard in panels of three unless otherwise provided by law.
Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is Kosovo’s highest judicial authority. It reviews lower court decisions, reviews cases from the Court of Appeals and appeals of decisions made by the Kosovo Property Agency, an administrative entity created to resolve property-related disputes arising from the armed conflict in the late 1990s. The Supreme Court sits in Pristina and has four branches: criminal, civil, administrative, and judicial practice. Cases are heard by panels of three unless otherwise provided by law. General sessions of the Supreme Court may convene when issuing opinions “that promote unique application of law.”
As of 2024, the Supreme Court has seventeen justices, including the Court President. Justices are nominated by the Kosovo Judicial Council and appointed by the President. Candidates must have at least eight years of judicial experience. Once appointed, justices serve until the mandatory retirement of 65. The President of the Supreme Court is appointed by the President of the Republic, upon the recommendation of the Kosovo Judicial Council, for a seven-year term.
Northern Kosovo – Challenges of Integration
Mitrovica borders Serbia in northern Kosovo. It has been a point of friction with Serbia since Kosovo declared independence. Prior to the war for independence, the region had a majority Serbian population, but internally displaced Kosovo Serbs migrated to Mitrovica during the war, increasing their numbers in the region. After independence, many of Kosovo’s northern municipal institutions remained under the control of Serbia, including the justice sector. In 2013, Kosovo and Serbia signed the Brussels Agreement: Mitrovica and other parts of the north were formally integrated into Kosovo. The agreement created a Basic Court, Basic Prosecution Office, Mitrovica-based Appellate Court division, and a new Appellate Court panel in Pristina. The Mitrovica Basic Court President is a Kosovar Serb, and the head of the Prosecutorial Office is a Kosovar Albanian. The new Appellate Court panel has an ethnic Serbian majority and resolves issues in Serbian-majority municipalities.
Judicial Selection and Tenure
Judicial candidates must be citizens of Kosovo with a recognized law degree, pass the bar exam, have no criminal convictions, a minimum of three years of legal experience, and pass a judicial examination. To serve as a judge in the juvenile or serious crime branch of the basic courts, candidates must have three years of criminal law experience. For candidates applying to the commercial and administrative courts, six years of legal experience is required. Promotion to the Court of Appeals requires at least five years of judicial experience at the Basic Court level.
The Kosovo Judicial Council oversees the judicial selection process, recommending candidates for appointment. The President reviews candidates and formally appoints new judges. There is a three-year period of probation for newly appointed judges. During this period, they must complete one year of training but can hear cases under the supervision of a mentor judge. At the conclusion of the probation, the Council evaluates the judges’ performance and sends its recommendations to the President. If selected for reappointment, all general jurisdiction judges serve until the mandatory retirement age of 65.
Ethnic Diversity in the Courts
Kosovo is 92% Albanian, 1.5% Serb, and the rest of the population is from smaller ethnic groups including Bosniaks and Roma. Pursuant to the Kosovo Law on the Courts, the judiciary is required to reserve 15% of positions on the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals for ethnic minorities, resulting in not less than three justices and two appeals court judges from non-majority communities in Kosovo.
Kosovo Judicial Counsel (KJC)
Kosovo’s Constitution created the Judicial Council to safeguard judicial independence. In addition to managing the appointment process, the Council is responsible for overseeing judicial performance, reviewing allegations of misconduct, developing court rules, and administering the judicial system.
The Council has thirteen members who serve five-year terms.
- seven are judges elected by their judicial colleagues
- two are elected by the legislature, with at least one being a judge
- two members are elected by deputies of the Kosovo Assembly holding seats reserved for the Kosovo Serb community, with at least one being a judge
- two, at least one of whom must be a judge, are elected by the legislature from other minority groups
The Council’s Chair and Vice Chair are elected by its members to a three-year term.
Judicial Education
The Kosovo Academy of Justice is responsible for the initial training and continuing education of judges, prosecutors, and court administrative personnel. The Academy is an independent institution with its own budget and headquarters. New judges must undergo a 12-month training, consisting of both substantive law and practical training. Continuing judicial education is voluntary, though participation may be mandatory if requested by a supervising judge.
Constitutional Court
The Constitutional Court is independent from Kosovo’s general court system and has final authority over disputes related to the Constitution. The legislature, President, and ombudsperson can refer cases to the Court. There are nine justices, nominated by the legislature and appointed by the President. While judges in Kosovo’s general jurisdiction courts have a mandatory retirement age of 65, Constitutional Court justices do not; they serve a single nine-year term. Justices are immune from prosecution, civil lawsuits, and dismissal for actions taken within the scope of their responsibilities.
Kosovo Specialist Chamber (KSC)
The Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC) is an international tribunal, established in 2015 following a multi-year European Union investigation into war crimes committed by the KLA during the war for independence. The KSC has jurisdiction over offenses committed between January 1, 1998, and December 31, 2000 “which were commenced or committed in Kosovo.” The tribunal presides over cases in the Hague, Netherlands. Its judges sit in panels of three, except for pretrial proceedings which are heard by a single judge. There are four chambers: the basic court chamber, appellate chamber, supreme court chamber, and constitutional court chamber. Though these chambers are administratively part of their counterpart courts in Kosovo, they operate independently from the general judiciary.
The KSC is staffed entirely by members of the international community. Its judges (including the President and Vice President) and administrative personnel are appointed by the head of the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX); candidates are proposed and vetted by a three-person panel made up of experts in international criminal law. As of 2024, there are 22 judges, all from Europe or North America.
The KSC mandate encompasses crimes perpetrated by Serbs, but thus far it has only presided over cases involving offenses committed by the KLA. There have been indictments against former high-level KLA members who entered politics after independence, including a sitting president and members of parliament. The crimes alleged include torture, murder, and forced disappearance. Only one case has completed the appeals process, the conviction of a commander of a KLA guerilla unit. Many Kosovar Albanians opposed the court’s creation and assert that it unfairly neglects crimes committed by Serbian forces.