# Kosovo Specialist Chambers

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC) (Albanian: Dhomat e Specializuara të Kosovës; Serbian: Специјализована већа Косова, Specijalizovana veća Kosova) is a court of Kosovo, located in The Hague (Netherlands), hosting four Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor's Office, which may perform their activities either in the Netherlands or in Kosovo. The court is currently set up for delegating the trials of the crimes committed by members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), an ethnic-Albanian paramilitary organisation which sought the separation of Kosovo from Yugoslavia during the 1990s and the eventual creation of a Greater Albania. The alleged crimes concern the period 1998–2000, during and at the end of the Kosovo War and directed afterwards against "ethnic minorities and political opponents". The court was formally established in 2016. It is separate from other Kosovar institutions, and independent. It is composed of a Specialist Prosecutor's Office and four Specialist Chambers, with themselves comprising Judges' Chambers and a Registry.
In December 2016 Ekaterina Trendafilova was elected first president. Among the people charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity are Kosovo former president Hashim Thaçi and senior Kosovar politician Kadri Veseli. On 15 September 2021 the court's first trial opened, the case against Salih Mustafa.

## Background

In 2010, Swiss politician Dick Marty authored a Council of Europe-report in which he noted war crimes had been committed by the KLA. Partly based on that report, the prosecutor of the Special Investigative Taskforce (SITF) of the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX Kosovo) concluded sufficient evidence existed for prosecution of "war crimes, crimes against humanity as well as certain crimes against Kosovan law". The court is located outside Kosovo on request of the prosecutor in order to provide adequate protection to witnesses.
The Kosovo authorities have agreed with the EU on modalities of dealing with those serious allegations. On 3 August 2015, the Kosovo Assembly adopted Article 162 of the Kosovo Constitution and the Law on Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor's Office, following the Exchange of Letters between the President of Kosovo and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy in 2014. The Specialist Chambers are attached to each level of the court system in Kosovo – Basic Court, Court of Appeals, Supreme Court and Constitutional Court. They will function according to relevant Kosovo laws as well as customary international law and international human rights law.
The EU has supported the process from the outset and together with other contributing countries (Canada, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United States of America) will financially support the work of the court.
The Specialist Chambers comprises two organs, the Chambers and the Registry. The Specialist Prosecutor's Office is an independent office for the investigation and prosecution of the crimes within the jurisdiction of the Specialist Chambers. The Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor's Office are staffed with international judges, prosecutors and officers and have a seat in The Hague, the Netherlands.

## Legal basis and organisation

Unlike many other non-Dutch judicial institutions in The Hague, the Kosovo Relocated Specialist Judicial Institution isn't an international court, but a court constituted through Kosovan legislation. To provide a proper legal basis for the court, Kosovo's constitution was amended (amendment 24) and Law No.05/L-053 on specialist chambers and specialist prosecutor's office was approved.
The court will be staffed by EU personnel and will have international judges only. The costs of the court will be borne by the EU as part of its Common Foreign and Security Policy. The four specialized chambers are all chambers of corresponding regular Kosovar institutions:
* The court of first instance of Pristina
* The court of Appeal
* Supreme Court
* Constitutional Court

## Judges

| Name | State | Term began | Term ended |
| Kai Ambos | Germany | 7 February 2017 | In office |
| Antonio Balsamo | Italy | 7 February 2017 | In office |
| Christoph Barthe | Germany | 7 February 2017 | In office |
| Gilbert Bitti | France | 22 September 2020 | In office |
| Michael Bohlander | Germany | 7 February 2017 | 31 August 2022 |
| Roland Dekkers | Netherlands | 7 February 2017 | In office |
| Daniel Fransen | Belgium | 22 September 2020 | In office |
| Emilio Gatti | Italy | 7 February 2017 | In office |
| Fergal M. Gaynor | Ireland | 22 September 2020 | In office |
| Nicolas Guillou | France | 7 February 2017 | 6 June 2024 |
| Piotr Hofmański | Poland | 3 December 2024 | In office |
| Romina Incutti | Italy | 22 September 2020 | In office |
| Nina H.B. Jørgensen | Norway | 22 September 2020 | In office |
| Thomas Laker | Germany | 7 February 2017 | In office |
| Marjorie Masselot | France | 6 June 2024 | In office |
| Guénaël Mettraux | Switzerland | 7 February 2017 | In office |
| Vladimir Mikula | Czech Republic | 7 February 2017 | In office |
| Roumen H. Nenkov | Bulgaria | 22 September 2020 | In office |
| Andres Parmas | Estonia | 7 February 2017 | 6 March 2020 |
| Michèle Picard | France | 7 February 2017 | In office |
| Ann Power-Forde | Ireland | 7 February 2017 | 4 November 2019 |
| Keith Raynor | United Kingdom | 7 February 2017 | 19 March 2020 |
| Kenneth Roberts | Canada | 7 February 2017 | In office |
| Charles Smith III | United States | 7 February 2017 | In office |
| Vidar Stensland | Norway | 7 February 2017 | In office |
| Ekaterina Trendafilova | Bulgaria | 12 January 2017 | In office |
| Christine van den Wyngaert | Belgium | 7 February 2017 | In office |
| Mappie Veldt-Foglia | Netherlands | 7 February 2017 | In office |

## Specialist Prosecutor

| Name | State(s) | Term began | Term ended |
| David Schwendiman | United States | 1 September 2016 | 31 March 2018 |
| Kwai Hong Ip (acting) | United Kingdom | 1 April 2018 | 6 May 2018 |
| Jack Smith | United States | 7 May 2018 | 18 November 2022 |
| Alex Whiting (acting) | France / United States | 19 November 2022 | 17 October 2023 |
| Kimberly West | United States | 18 October 2023 | In office |

## Indicted persons

A total of 15 persons have been indicted in the Kosovo Specialist Chambers. Of those indicted, 14 have been arrested and transferred to the Chambers' custody and one has been summoned to appear. The cases against four people are in the pre-trial stage, four people are on trial, one case in the appeals stage, four people are serving sentences, and two people have completed their sentences.
| Name | Indicted | H | W | D | Detained | Current status |
| Salih Mustafa | 12 June 2020 | — | 4 | — | 24 September 2020 | Serving sentence of 15 years' imprisonment |
| Pjetёr Shala | 12 June 2020 | — | 4 | — | 15 April 2021 | Appeal of sentence of 18 years' imprisonment |
| Jakup Krasniqi | 26 October 2020 | 6 | 4 | — | 4 November 2020 | Trial began on 3 April 2023 |
| Rexhep Selimi | 26 October 2020 | 6 | 4 | — | 5 November 2020 | Trial began on 3 April 2023 |
| Hashim Thaçi | 26 October 2020 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 5 November 2020 | Trial began on 3 April 2023 |
| Kadri Veseli | 26 October 2020 | 6 | 4 | — | 5 November 2020 | Trial began on 3 April 2023 |
| Hysni Gucati | 11 December 2020 | — | — | 6 | 25 September 2020 | Completed sentence on 24 December 2024 (released on 18 October 2023) |
| Nasim Haradinaj | 11 December 2020 | — | — | 6 | 25 September 2020 | Completed sentence on 24 December 2024 (released on 14 December 2023) |
| Ismet Bahtijari | 2 October 2023 | — | — | 3 | 6 October 2023 | Paroled on 21 February 2025 |
| Sabit Januzi | 2 October 2023 | — | — | 3 | 6 October 2023 | Paroled on 21 February 2025 |
| Haxhi Shala | 4 December 2023 | — | — | 3 | 12 December 2023 | Serving sentence of 3 years' imprisonment |
| Fadil Fazliu | 29 November 2024 | — | — | 2 | 5 December 2024 | Case in pre-trial stage |
| Isni Kilaj | 29 November 2024 | — | — | 2 | 5 December 2024 | Case in pre-trial stage |
| Hajredin Kuçi | 29 November 2024 | — | — | 2 | Summoned | Case in pre-trial stage |
| Bashkim Smakaj | 29 November 2024 | — | — | 2 | 5 December 2024 | Case in pre-trial stage |
| Notes ↑ Hashim Thaçi was indicted in another case on 29 November 2024. That case is in the pre-trial stage. ↑ Hysni Gucati served 3 years and 23 days of his sentence of 4 years and 3 months' imprisonment in detention and the remainder on parole in addition to paying a €100 fine. ↑ Nasim Haradinaj served 3 years, 2 months, and 19 days of his sentence of 4 years and 3 months' imprisonment in detention and the remainder on parole in addition to paying a €100 fine. ↑ Ismet Bahtijari served 1 year, 4 months, 15 days of his sentence of 2 years' imprisonment in detention. ↑ Sabit Januzi served 1 year, 4 months, 15 days of his sentence of 2 years' imprisonment in detention. ↑ Isni Kilaj was previously detained from 2 November 2023 to 15 May 2024 before being conditionally released. ||||||||