The Constitutional Court’s Decision On The Association/Community Of Serb Majority Municipalities
The long-awaited decision of the Constitutional Court on the constitutionality of the Principles and Main Elements of the 25 August 2015 agreement between Kosovo and Serbia—particularly as it relates to the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities—made it evident there is still much to be done to anchor the Association/Community on solid legal footing. While the Court agreed with the Government’s notion that the Association/Community is part of Kosovo’s constitutional order and that it should be established, it did declare many of its defining elements as not being in line with Kosovo’s constitutional standards. As such, the Court outlined the competencies of the Association/Community, while addressing issues that are outside of its mandate. This way the Court ruled not only on which competencies the Association/Community should have and the structure of its organisation, but also on how it shouldn’t look and function. The Court also called upon all parties to take its judgment into account when drafting its Statute and final legal act. ECMI Kosovo has repeatedly argued that, while the Association/Community should be established, its establishment should follow as a result of an inclusive and constructive dialogue involving all political stakeholders, chief among them the Assembly of Kosovo. This issue of the Monitor outlines the main points from the Court’s ruling and recommends concrete steps to take to ensure that the Association/Community is not only established on solid legal footing, but that it also has buy-in from the wider political spectrum.