By Jhr. Alexander W. Beelaerts van Blokland LL.M.
The Hague hosts many international courts, tribunals and other organizations and soon a new one will be added: the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office. What is it ?
The former Prosecutor of the ICTY (the Yugoslavia Tribunal) Mrs. Carla Delponte pointed out in her memoirs that allegedly in the years 1998 – 2000 very serious crimes were committed in Kosovo and Albania by (former) members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). The Council of Europe started an investigation and the result was the Marty report in 2011, that confirmed Mrs. Delponte’s accusations. The Special Investigative Task Force, established by the European Union, concluded in 2014 that there was sufficient evidence to start legal cases. But: for which court ?
The EU reached an agreement with Kosovo about additional chambers on every level of the Kosovo court system (Basic Court, Court of Appeal, Supreme Court and Constitutional Court) and a Public Prosecutor Office to conduct the trials. They will function according to relevant Kosovo laws as well as customary international law and international human rights law. Because of experiences with other cases, it was decided for safety reasons to establish these chambers outside Kosovo: in The Netherlands. There is now a (provisional) host state agreement with The Netherlands. The Dutch parliament agreed. Apart from the EU the project has been supported and co-sponsored by Canada, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey and the USA.
The Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office will have jurisdiction over crimes against humanity, war crimes and other crimes under Kosovo law in relation to allegations reported in the Council of Europe Parliamentary Report of 7 January 2011. They will be established in the former EUROPOL-building at the Raamweg in the International Zone of The Hague. A Prosecutor (Mr David Schwendiman from the USA) and a Registar (Ms Fidelma Donlon from Ireland) have been nominated. The judges will come from EU-countries and the abovementioned supporting countries from outside the EU. Only the President will be nominated full time, the other judges will work via the so called roster system. All will start in 2017 or 2018.
The City of The Hague is happy and proud to host another important international tribunal.
About the author: Jhr. Alexander W. Beelaerts van Blokland LL.M. Justice (Judge) in the (Dutch) Court of Appeal and honorary Special Advisor International Affairs, appointed by the Mayor & Aldermen of The Hague. a.beelaerts@planet.nl
