The Specialist Prosecutor notified the President of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers of his intent to initiate proceedings before the Specialist Chambers and requested that a Pre-Trial Judge be assigned in accordance with the Law.
According to a press release issued by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers the President has therefore assigned a Pre-Trial Judge in accordance with the Law and the Rules of Assignment of Specialist Chamber Judges from the Roster of International Judges to review indictments filed by the Specialist Prosecutor. The content of indictments remains confidential, unless and until confirmed by the Pre-Trial Judge.
The Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office are part of the judicial system of Kosovo based at the Hague. They were established by a Constitutional Amendment and a Law adopted by the Kosovo Assembly to conduct trials for allegations stemming from the 2011 Council of Europe report, which alleges serious violations of international law. They are of temporary nature with a specific mandate and jurisdiction, namely over certain crimes against humanity, war crimes and other crimes under Kosovo law which allegedly occurred between 1 January 1998 and 31 December 2000. The Law allows for the relocation of the proceedings outside Kosovo. The Specialist Chambers have a seat in The Hague, the Netherlands, and are to be staffed with international judges, prosecutors and staff. More details on the background of the organisation are available via About the SC and SPO
