The Constitution of Kosovo (, ) is the supreme law (article 16) of the Republic of Kosovo, a territory of unresolved political status. Article four of the constitution establishes the rules and separate powers of the three branches of the government. The unicameral Assembly of the Republic exercises the legislative power, the executive branch led by the president and the prime minister which are responsible for implementing laws and the judicial system headed by the Supreme Court.Government profile
The constitution was signed on 7 April 2008 at 13:00 local time at the national library in Pristina. The constitution was ratified on 9 April and came to effect on 15 June 2008.
The Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo can be changed through the amendment process (article 144). Constitutional amendments are added to it, altering its effect. The foreword of the constitution reads:
Article 7, ensures the values and freedoms by the rule of law, equality same as respect, gender equality and social justice and the neutrality towards religion by the article 8 of the Constitution.
The constitution guides Kosovo's law and political culture. Writers were influenced mostly by two documents: the Ahtisaari plan and the fourhand – and the UN Security Council Resolution 1244 which was the base document for a period from 10 June 1999. The final authority for the interpretation of the constitution of the Republic of Kosovo is the Constitutional Court of Kosovo.
Kosovo lawyers and politicians have repeatedly called for amendments or a thorough revision of the constitution. Proposals include removing the prohibition of unification with Albania (art. 1.3), allowing direct elections for the president, and improving the language of the document. Alternative draft constitutions have also been proposed, before and after the declaration of independence.
History
First constitution, 1974 The Constitution of the Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo was adopted on 28 February 1974, by the Assembly of Kosovo and the Assembly of Yugoslavia, whilst Kosovo was still an autonomous province of Serbia. The federal 1974 Yugoslav Constitution that was adopted a week earlier granted federal units of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to create their own constitutions, making this the first constitution of Kosovo that was integrated into a constitution of the SFR Yugoslavia. It replaced the Kosovo Constitutional Law of 1963, granting Kosovo a high degree of constitutional, legislative and judicial autonomy. Per the Constitutions of SFR Yugoslavia from 1974, SAP Kosovo also gained its own Constitution and the highest officials, most notably Presidency and Government.
The constitution stated that all ethnicities of Kosovo should unite under the people's socialist revolution and the Communist party in its lead, against class warfare and further class inequality. The head of the Assembly signed the constitution on 27 February 1974 and it was adopted the same day.
Five points below explain the main reasons for its existence and importance:
From 1944 onwards Kosovo's participation in the federal Yugoslavia was mostly like the other federal units. Since 1944, and particularly under the 1974 SFRY constitution, Kosovo had a substantial degree of autonomy. In all areas, social economic and national policy. Under the 1974 Constitution, the six republics along with Vojvodina and Kosovo had a similar constitutional position, the main difference was that while the republics (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia) were granted the right to secede, provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina were not. Kosovo had the same protection that the republics had in disputes between Serbia and Kosovo including the Federal Constitutional Court. This was removed in 1989–1990 and could not be re-established once the SFRY had disintegrated. The position of Kosovo under the 1974 Constitution was cancelled in 1989–1990 by Serbia's federal authorities.
Second constitution, 1989–1990 After the speech that Slobodan Milošević gave on 24 April 1987 and on 28 June 1989, the Gazimestan speech in front of a large number of ethnic Serbs at the main celebration marking the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo. Some think that this speech helped Miloševic consolidate his authority in Serbia.The Economist, 5 June 1999, US Edition, 1041 words, "What's next for Slobodan Miloševic?" With the rise to power of nationalist movement in Serbia, the limitation of powers for Kosovo begin. In 1989 the Serbian assembly began passing amendments for restricting Kosovo's powers, guaranteed by the 1974 SFRY Constitution. It could propose such amendments but these required acceptance by the Kosovo Assembly before being adopted.
On 23 March 1989 Kosovo Assembly accepted changes to its constitution, removing its autonomy. Representatives handpicked by Serbia approved changes to Kosovo's Constitution, starting the disintegration of the SFRY and the oppression and brutality in Kosovo.
Constitution of Kaçanik Kosovo Albanians responded with a non-violent independence movement, employing widespread civil disobedience and creation of parallel structures in education, medical care, and taxation, with the ultimate goal of achieving the independence of Kosovo.Clark, Howard. Civil Resistance in Kosovo. London
On 2 July 1990, the self-declared Kosovo parliament declared Kosovo a republic in Yugoslavia. On 7 September 1990 in the town of Kaçanik, 35 miles south of Pristina and in an improvised session promulgated the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo. Witch confirmed the referendum and on 22 September 1991 declared Kosovo an independent country, the Republic of Kosova.Historical Dictionary of Kosovo by Robert Elsie page 88 In May 1992, Ibrahim Rugova was elected president. During its run, the Republic of Kosova was recognized only by Albania; it was formally disbanded in 2000, after the Kosovo War, when its institutions were replaced by the Joint Interim Administrative Structure established by the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).
The Constitution of Kaçanik 1990, was written to give Kosovo Albanians freedom, fairness and wellbeing within Yugoslavia and stipulated that the people were the ones who select their wellbeing and futures. The head of the meeting on 7 September 1990 was Iljaz Ramajli.Kosovo: The Politics of Identity and Space
Constitutional Framework, 2001 Following the Kosovo War, Kosovo came under the administration of the United Nations in June 1999. The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), promulgated a Constitutional Framework for Provisional Self-Government in Kosovo on 15 May 2001. The charter stated that "Kosovo is an entity under interim international administration" and established Provisional Institutions of Self-Government in Kosovo including a 120-member Assembly of Kosovo, a Cabinet of Kosovo and the positions of President of Kosovo and Prime Minister of Kosovo.
Influences
UN Security Council Resolution 1244
Kosovo's constitutional status between June 1999 and February 2008 was established by the United Nations in UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (UNSCR 1244), adopted on 10 June 1999. The Security Council placed Kosovo under the temporary administration of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), under the leadership of Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG). It also explicitly upheld the existing sovereignty of Serbia over Kosovo, "reaffirming the commitment of all Member States to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the other States of the region". It also envisaged a process to determine Kosovo's final status.
The problem for either side was noted by Ylber Hysa: Although "Resolution 1244 respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, including Kosovo", and even provided for Serbian troops to be stationed in the province, on the ground "certain territories are under the full control of KFOR and the international administration" without any Serbian involvement (citat: Ylber Hysa, "Kosovo: a permanent international protectorate?", p. 288 in The UN Role in Promoting Democracy: Between Ideals and Reality, eds. Edward Newman, Roland Rich (United Nations University Press, 2004). However the part in question was never implemented. The severely circumscribed control exercised by Serbia in Kosovo has led some commentators to describe the nature of its sovereignty as purely "nominal".
On 15 May 2001, UNMIK enacted a "Constitutional Framework for Provisional Self-Government (ciat :) Although it provides a constitutional framework, it is not constitution, and is deliberately nonjudgmental on the question of sovereignty, as UNMIK itself does not have a role in the determination of Kosovo's final status. It defines Kosovo as "an entity under interim international administration" and "an undivided territory".
Serbia's interference in Kosovo has caused significant problems. UNMIK was given exclusive rights to manage Kosovo's economic affairs and stated its intent in the Constitutional Framework to establish a market economy. Prior to 1999, much of Kosovo's economy had been controlled by the state. All publicly owned enterprises were owned by the Yugoslav government or the Serbian state, both governed from Belgrade. When UNMIK began implementing privatization of assets that it did not own, Serbs with interests in the companies subject to privatization sued first UNMIK and then the UN in New York.
Swedish economist Jessica Johnson claims that the fact that Kosovo is still regarded in law as being part of Serbia, as well as the ongoing political tensions, has caused it significant difficulties in achieving economic development and that its uncertain legal status has prevented it from accessing lending from International Financial Institutions such as the World Bank.
The establishment of UNMIK based on UNSCR 1244 was primarily intended to preserve the territorial integrity of Kosovo and grant it "substantial autonomy" until a final status could be met. Albanian Kosovars viewed this mandate as a step towards an independent and sovereign Kosovo. In a secret meeting in Prizren in 2000, headed by the SRSG Bernard Kouchner, there was an attempt to see if the 1999 Rambouillet Peace Accords document could be used as a model for constitution drafting, but this document essentially gave Serbia power to establish territorial and institutional "parallel structures" of government in Kosovo and also block decision-making processes in the central government in Kosovo. Kouchner realized that Rambouillet could not be the document that would establish a sustainable government scheme for Kosovo and Serbia, though the idea of using the peace accords as a foundation for the constitution would be an inspiration for the Ahtisaari Plan.
Serbia's unwillingness to recognize Kosovo and the general lack of consensus in the international community as to whether Kosovo should be independent left Kosovo in a state of limbo after 1999, during its administration under UNMIK. To mitigate the economic and social problems that come from what was essentially a client state like Kosovo, the U.N. Security Council issued the Comprehensive Proposal for the Kosovo Status Settlement, otherwise known as the Ahtisaari Plan.
Ahtisaari plan
Ahtisaari stated on 8 February 2007 that after a period of consultations with the parties he would finalize his Settlement proposal for submission to the UN Security Council and at that stage he would also elaborate on the status issue itself (citat: ^ "Ahtisaari press conference ",).