In partnership with Kosovo*Justice Academy, our project co-facilitated the workshop with legal practitioners of regular courts on the current practice of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo* with reference to the practice of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in civil law cases. 19 judges of Basic Courts and Supreme Court deepened their knowledge on the relevant standards and caselaw of the Constitutional Court in civil limb, in the context of obligations of regular courts to apply caselaw of the ECtHR in their jurisprudence deriving from the Article 53 of the Constitution.
Participants were engaged in interactive discussions and exchange with two experts through analyses of the cases adjudicated by regular courts in which Constitutional Court’s review found violations of different elements of the Right to Fair Trial including equality of arms, right to reasoned judicial decision and reasonable time of proceedings, Right to Private and Family Life, Right to Property, admissibility criteria and others. Apart from standards set in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), they discussed issues related to other international human rights instruments directly applicable in domestic legal system based on the Constitution, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
Judges of regular courts also increased understanding of the role of ordinary courts in requesting review of constitutionality of legal acts or certain provisions in legislation by the Constitutional Court when such an issue is raised during judicial proceedings, the so-called incidental control. Throughout the discussions, the emphasis was on the need for increased application of the ECtHR caselaw as an important point of reference in the practice of domestic judiciary and other relevant institutions.
This was the first capacity building activity co-organised with partner judicial training institutions in the new cycle of our project aimed at supporting the Constitutional Court of Kosovo* in applying and disseminating European human rights standards. Series of workshops on ECHR standards and practice of the ECtHR will be further facilitated with judges and legal associates of regular courts, prosecutors, and lawyers, in partnership with Justice Academy and Bar Association. The aim is to further integrate European human rights standards in case processing and reasoning of judicial decisions with courts of all instances and promote shared responsibility for human rights protection with all actors in judiciary.
[1] All references to Kosovo, whether to the territory, institutions, or population, in this text shall be understood in full compliance with United National Security Council Resolution 1244 and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo.
