Kosovo Specialist Court: a New Way to Seek Justice for Unpunished Crimes and Human Rights Violations in Kosovo?
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Master’s Degree in Comparative International Relations Final Thesis Kosovo Specialist Court: a new way to seek justice for unpunished crimes and human rights violations in Kosovo? A possible solution against the weakness of international and domestic systems Supervisor Chiar.ma Prof.ssa Sara De Vido Assistant supervisor Chiar.mo Prof. Fabrizio Marrella Graduand Annalisa Canova Matriculation number: 876622 Academic Year 2019 / 2020 I Ai miei genitori II III TABLE OF CONTENT ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGY ................................................................................. 9 ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................................... 15 CHAPTER 1 - Human rights abuses and humanitarian law violations in Kosovo ................... 19 1.1. A brief history of struggle for independence 20 1.1.1. Historical and political background of the 1998-1999 conflict and the role of ethnicity ............................... 20 1.1.2. Kosovo War and NATO’s intervention .......................................................................................................... 24 1.1.3. International administration and the reconstruction of the judicial system .................................................... 27 1.1.4. Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence and the reconfiguration of the international presence ...... 31 1.2. Human rights and humanitarian law violations during the Yugoslav and Kosovo wars 35 1.2.1. FRY obligations, application of relevant norms and violations of international instruments ........................ 35 1.2.2. OSCE-KVM’s reports and major war crimes during the conflict .................................................................. 41 1.2.3. Civilian causalities during NATO’s Operation Allied Force: a violation of humanitarian law? ................... 45 1.3. Human rights abuses and violations after the war: the KLA between suspicion and revenge 49 1.3.1. Violations of minority’s rights ........................................................................................................................ 50 1.3.2. Attacks on Ethnic Albanians ........................................................................................................................... 52 1.3.3. Violence in Serbian detention centres ............................................................................................................ 54 1.4. Fighting the stigma: civil Society, NGOs and Human Rights Activists supporting the victims 56 1.5. Conclusions 59 CHAPTER 2 - International and hybrid criminal courts prosecuting international crimes ... 61 2.1. Accountability for violations of international criminal law: from Nuremberg and Tokyo to the ICTR and ICTY 64 2.1.1. Individual responsibility for crimes under international law .......................................................................... 66 2.2. ICTY’s investigations and prosecutions for international crimes in Kosovo 67 2.2.1. ICTY mandate, structure and jurisdiction ....................................................................................................... 67 2.2.2. ICTY’s first investigations in Kosovo and FRY’s lack of cooperation .......................................................... 69 2.2.3. The Tribunal’s achievements and limitations ................................................................................................. 72 2.3. ICC: the first permanent international criminal court 77 2.3.1. ICC mandate, structure and jurisdiction ......................................................................................................... 77 2.3.2. Individuals indicted by the ICC ...................................................................................................................... 80 2.3.3. The limits of the ICC’s jurisdiction in the Kosovo war .................................................................................. 81 2.4. The emergence of new “hybrid” courts 83 2.4.1. International and hybrid criminal courts: how can they coexist? ................................................................... 85 2.4.2. Strengths and weaknesses of hybrid tribunals as a mechanism for justice in post-conflict societies ............. 88 2.5. Conclusions 91 IV CHAPTER 3 - Failure of domestic and international systems in prosecuting violations in Kosovo ............................................................................................................................................... 93 3.1. UNMIK and EULEX’s failure 94 3.1.1. UNMIK’s lack of protection and violations of human rights ......................................................................... 94 3.1.2. EULEX: from hope to disappointment ......................................................................................................... 103 3.2. The weakness of the Kosovar judiciary 110 3.2.1. Kosovar police and prosecutors’ failure in investigating human rights violations and lack of professionalism ....................................................................................................................................................... 111 3.2.2. Shortcomings of domestic courts and trials .................................................................................................. 116 3.3. Conclusions 120 CHAPTER 4 - Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office: a new solution for justice? ....................................................................................................................... 123 4.1. Dick Marty’s report and the establishment of the KSC and SPO 126 4.1.1. The Tribunal’s mandate and structure .......................................................................................................... 129 4.1.2. KSC rules of procedure and evidence (RPE) and victims’ participation in the proceedings ....................... 130 4.1.3. KSC, ICTY and ICC: a comparison with respect to the case of Kosovo ..................................................... 133 4.2. An assessment of the potential impact of the KSC and SPO: opportunities and limits 138 4.2.1. Potential positive impacts and opportunities ................................................................................................ 138 4.2.2. Potential risks and mitigating solutions ........................................................................................................ 141 4.3. Public perception of the KSC and SPO 145 4.3.1. A strongly disputed tribunal: between hope and scepticism ......................................................................... 147 4.4. The first cases and President Thaçi’s war crimes indictment 151 4.5. Conclusions 157 CONCLUSIONS AND FINAL CONSIDERATIONS ............................................................... 159 BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................................................... 165 WEBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................... 173 LIST OF TREATIES, CONVENTIONS, AGREEMENTS AND CONSTITUTIONS .......... 187 RINGRAZIAMENTI .................................................................................................................... 191 V Credits for this image go to the talented Costanza Zaetta, who was able to seize the essence of my thesis and to visually bring to life the quote below. “We must fight uncompromisingly against impunity for the perpetrators of serious human rights violations. The fact that these were committed in the context of a violent conflict could never justify a decision to refrain from prosecuting anyone who has committed such acts. There cannot and must not be one justice for the winners and another for the losers.” Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights VI VII Source: Cleve Baldwin, “Minority Rights in Kosovo under International Rule”, Minority Rights Group International report, July 2006. VIII bianca IX ABSTRACT Tra il 1990 e il 1999, appena cinquant’anni dopo la fine del conflitto mondiale più sanguinoso nella storia dell’umanità in termini di perdite di vite umane, distruzione sistematica e pianificata di interi popoli, brutalità della violenza e utilizzo di armi di distruzione di massa sulla popolazione civile e inerme, il territorio dei Balcani venne insanguinato da nuovi violenti conflitti inter-etnici, fomentati dall’imperante nazionalismo riemerso a seguito della morte del Presidente della Repubblica Socialista Federale di Jugoslavia Josip Broz Tito. La violenza dei crimini e le violazioni dei diritti umani e del diritto internazionale umanitario commessi in questo decennio non si limitarono a destabilizzare gli equilibri nella regione e portare alla definitiva dissoluzione dell’ex Jugoslavia, ma attirarono l’interesse dell’intera comunità internazionale sul tema della giustizia e della responsabilità penale dell’individuo a livello internazionale: l’idea alla base di tali concetti è che le norme internazionali vòlte alla tutela di interessi e beni universali non vincolano né creano degli obblighi solo in capo agli Stati ma anche direttamente in capo ai singoli individui. Tale visione moderna della responsabilità penale per la commissione di crimini internazionali, ossia delle violazioni più gravi delle norme internazionali a tutela dei diritti umani e del diritto