On September 7, Group for Legal and Political Studies (GLPS) and the Community Development Fund (CDF) organized a Roundtable Discussion on the topic: “Dealing with Domestic Violence in Kosovo: institutional treatment of domestic violence for the period of July 2022 – June 2023”, held in Prishtina. The aim of this event was to discuss the institutional performance and handling of domestic violence cases in Kosovo, with particular focus to courts, prosecution and the police. At the beginning of the discussion, GLPS presented an Annual Assessment Report with the same title, reflecting on the main findings on the basis of the data collected through systematic monitoring of courts and prosecution during the given period.

First to address the audience was the Minister of Justice of Kosovo, Ms. Albulena Haxhiu. Among other things, Minister Haxhiu emphasized that such reports are highly significant in portraying the performance of the institutions that are mandated to prevent and combat domestic violence in Kosovo. Further, Minister Haxhiu highlighted the activities that have been undertaken by the government, namely the Ministry of Justice, including legal changes and awareness campaigns for reporting and providing assistance to the victims of this criminal offense.

On the other hand, Mr. Sabit Sadikaj, a judge at the Basic Court in Prishtina added that cases of domestic violence, as highlighted in the GLPS report, are treated with priority and he concluded that the punitive policy in cases of domestic violence is within the limits defined by legislation in force.

Meanwhile, the Prosecutor of the Basic Prosecution in Pristina, Ms Mimoza Shala, welcomed the report and endorsed its findings, while listing numerous challenges that are presented during the handling of cases of domestic violence by the State Prosecutor.

Regarding the commitment of the Kosovo Police in the prevention of domestic violence, Major Ramadan Ahmeti emphasized that the large number of cases of domestic violence remains a challenge and that the recommendations provided by the monitoring report are real and concrete steps must be taken to address this matter.

Panellists:

Ms. Albulena Haxhiu – Minister of Justice in Kosovo;

Mr. Sabit Sadikaj – Judge at the Basic Court in Prishtina;

Ms. Mimoza Shala – Prosecutor at the Basic Prosecution in Prishtina;

Mr. Ramadan Ahmeti – Mayor at the Kosovo Police.

This Roundtable Discussion was held within the framework of a project titled JUST REACT, funded by the European Union Office in Kosovo.