KDI: Legislation Commission began its work in violation of the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure

The Democratic Institute of Kosovo (KDI) has expressed concern about the way the Legislation Commission has begun reviewing and voting in principle on the package of draft laws for justice reform, claiming the procedure followed conflicts with the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure, Telegrafi reports.

According to KDI, the Commission’s meeting was called without respecting the deadline set by the Rules, while MPs were given the materials of the legal package only one night before their review.

The Institute recalled that Article 34, paragraph 4, of the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure stipulates that, except in special cases, a commission meeting must be called at least three working days before it is held.

“In today’s case, the MPs received the package of draft laws and the accompanying materials of hundreds of pages last night, while they were invited today to discuss and vote on them in principle”, KDI announced.

According to the organization, no justification was given in advance for this expedited proceeding.

KDI also mentioned Article 74, paragraph 1, of the Rules, according to which the first reading of a draft law in a plenary session is held only after two weeks have passed since its distribution to MPs.

For this reason, according to KDI, the Commission had sufficient time to conduct the review in principle while respecting the regular deadlines and enabling MPs to become fully acquainted with the materials.

KDI also raised concern about the absence of the responsible minister during the review of the draft laws.

“The draft laws were also voted on without being presented by the responsible minister. Although this is related to parliamentary practice and not to a procedural obligation, for such an important justice reform package, the minister should have been present, presented the proposals and answered MPs’ possible questions”, the reaction says.

The Institute assesses that the draft laws of this package are of particular importance for advancing integrity, performance and accountability in the justice system.

Precisely for this reason, KDI asks that their review be conducted without haste and in full compliance with parliamentary procedures.

Finally, KDI asked that the Legislation Commission, which among other things is also responsible for respecting the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure, in the next stages of reviewing the package ensure respect for procedures and the involvement of relevant stakeholders.