On September 24, Group for Legal and Political Studies (GLPS) organized a Roundtable Discussion on the topic: “Monitoring the KPC’s Strategic Plan: Where does the prosecution system stand in fighting corruption and organized crime?”, held in Prishtina.  The aim of this event was to discuss the performance of Kosovo Prosecutorial Council (KPC) in the fight against corruption and economic crime in Kosovo, challenges and achievements so far. During the discussion, a special emphasis was placed on the implementation of the Strategic Plan and Action Plan for increasing the efficiency of the prosecutorial system for fighting corruption and economic crime, including the seizure and confiscation of illicit property by the mechanisms of the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council. First to address the audience was Mr. Maliqi, a judge at the Supreme Court of Kosovo, whom among others, stated that progress was made and there are significant achievements, however, we should be self-critical and certainly not satisfied with the progress achieved. “We should continuously commit towards fighting corruption and organized crime through an efficient justice system, inter-institutional coordination and proper mechanisms”, he added.In addition, Mr. Miftaraj, Executive Director at Kosovo Law Institute (KLI) said that Kosovo institutions are not putting serious efforts in fighting corruption and organized crime, in specific to landmark cases involving high profile political representatives. Institutions do provide theoretical promises but there is no concrete result achieved in practice, at any level, he concluded. On another note, Mr. Nimoni, a Research Fellow at Çohu, said that if analyzed statistically, the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council’s reports reflect a certain level of progress, however, it is worrying the method which is being employed in resolving corruption and organized crime cases by the judiciary, with particular emphasis on high profile corruption cases.  During the discussion the panelists also focused on the extent to which the objectives and timelines of this plan have been fulfilled, as well as the efficiency of solving corruption and economic crimes cases, including the seizure and confiscation of illegal assets, as well as the processing of cases carried over from preliminary periods. This activity was organized under the support of the U.S. Embassy in Kosovo.

Panelists:

Mr. Agim Maliqi – Judge at the Supreme Court of Kosovo;

Mr. Ehat Miftaraj – Executive Director, Kosovo Law Institute (KLI);

Mr. Genc Nimoni – Research Fellow, Çohu;

Ms. Bardha Maxhuni – Author of the Report, GLPS.

Venue: Hotel Swiss Diamond (Marec Hall), 10000 Prishtina, Kosovo