The Court shall render justice in Muja’s case at a reasonable time limit

The Forum "Transparenca" through this public reaction invokes the judiciary of Kosovo to take into consideration the provisions of the Constitution, namely, International Conventions on Human Rights related to adjudication within reasonable time in the case of the Mayor of Prizren and five of his accomplices.

This Forum recalls that this case is entering its third year before the court.

The judicial proceedings in the case of senior officials of the Municipality of Prizren started on 25th of March 2013, at the Basic Court of Prizren. This Court on 13th of March 2014 had convicted the Mayor of Prizren, Ramadan Muja and his five accomplices for misuse of official duty and exceeding of authority, according to four counts of the indictments presented by EULEX Prosecution Office. On 22nd of July 2015, the Court of Appeals set aside the challenged judgment of the Basic Court and returned the case for retrial to the First Instance Court. While, on 26th of November 2015 a mixed panel of judges of the Supreme Court of Kosovo repealed the decision of the Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals amended the decision by which the case was returned for retrial. Now the case is returned to the Court of Appeals for review by another panel.

Kosovo’s Constitution provides that the right to a fair and impartial trial should be applied within a reasonable time. The right to trial in a reasonable time is a fundamental procedural human right guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

Based on the above, the Forum "Transparenca" states that the practice of rendering a judgment within a reasonable time limit represents an achievement of the democratic world, which by a correct decision provides judicial protection to each citizen.

Given that Ramadan Muja is the highest senior official in Municipality of Prizren, the judiciary must handle his case with a high priority, and provide a fair and impartial trial in accordance with international conventions, but within a reasonable period of time. Moreover, the judiciary should, for the sake of its independence, not abuse the public by prolonging this case. Therefore in the interests of general legal security, the Forum "Transparenca" invokes for a trial within a reasonable time.