EU urges parties not to pressure KJC for Serbian judges

2026-07-23 22:15:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The European Union Office in Kosovo has called on all political parties in Kosovo to refrain from putting pressure on the Kosovo Judicial Council (KJC).

In a reaction on July 23, the EU urged that KJC members not be exposed to pressure during their decision-making.

This reaction comes after earlier in the day, exponents of the ruling party, the Vetevendosje Movement, demanded that KJC members vote against the return of Serbian judges who had submitted their resignations in 2022.

“An independent, impartial and apolitical judicial system is essential for the rule of law in the EU and in Kosovo,” the EU Office said.

The elected LVV MP, Arbreshë Kryeziu-Hyseni, wrote on social media that these judges had resigned on the orders of Serbian President Aleksandar Vu?i?, adding that "now the same ones - again on Vu?i?'s orders", are demanding their return to office.

"There are suspicions that five Albanian members of the KJC are aiming to reinstate these Vu?i? judges, even though it is completely illegal," she wrote, demanding that this not happen and that the resignations be processed to the acting president of Kosovo, Albulena Haxhiu.

The other elected LVV MP, Adriana Matoshi, also demanded that the KJC make a decision against the return of Serbian judges to office, as did the other elected MP, Mefail Bajqinovci.

Bajqinovci even said that the head of the KJC, Rrustem Thaqi, should publicly declare that their return should not be allowed, describing it as a "violation" if anything were to be done differently.

Seven Serbian prosecutors and administrative staff have now been relieved of their duties, after Haxhiu signed decrees for their release on July 21.

On July 21, the acting president of Kosovo, Albulena Haxhiu, signed decrees dismissing seven Serbian prosecutors who had resigned at the end of 2022, as part of the collective departure of Serbs from Kosovo institutions.

The decree was signed a day after the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council rejected the request of five Serbian prosecutors and 15 administrative employees of the Basic Prosecution Office in Mitrovica to withdraw their resignations.

The decision to dismiss the prosecutors was criticized by the EU.

Around 130 Serbian prosecutors and judges had resigned at the end of November 2022, as part of the collective departure of Serbs from Kosovo institutions in the four Serb-majority municipalities in the north - North Mitrovica, Leposavic, Zvecan and Zubin Potok.

This action - instigated by the Serbian List, the largest Serb party in Kosovo, which is supported by Belgrade - came in protest against the Kosovo Government's decision to remove Serbian-issued vehicle license plates from use and replace them with Kosovo license plates.

But the issue of unresolved resignations came back into focus after, in mid-June, Haxhiu asked the Kosovo Judicial Council and the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council to "without delay" conclude the procedures regarding these resignations, arguing that their delay affects the normal functioning of the justice system./ Rel