“Plan to bring back Serb judges”

EULEX chief Yves de Kermabon says the project which will reintroduce Serb judges and prosecutors to the Kosovska Mitrovica District Court is nearing completion. The EU mission in the province, EULEX, has, according to him, been “discussing the legal issues with Belgrade”. “Plan to bring back Serb judges” “We have already prepared some proposals and are in constant contact with Kosovo institutions, such as the Kosovo Association of Judges. I believe there will be two Serb and two Albanian judges in northern (Kosovska) Mitrovica in the near future,” Kermabon said in an interview for Deutsche Welle. He pointed out that EULEX was trying to get Belgrade to approve the operation of courts in northern Kosovo. According to him, EULEX has already begun talks with Belgrade on the legal issues involved. A more efficient technical protocol in the fight against organized crime is also being discussed. “If you want to be efficient in the fight against organized crime, then you need to know that you cannot limit the fight to Kosovo alone. What is needed is regional cooperation and agreement between courts, customs and police services. Exchange of information and good coordination is essential,” Kermabon said. “This is why EULEX decided to work towards agreements with the entire region, Serbia included.The idea is to reach technical cooperation agreements between courts and customs services in order to efficiently fight organized crime. The process will be completely transparent and conducted in cooperation with the Belgrade and Pristina authorities, since exchange of information is in everyone's best interest,” Kermabon stressed. The EULEX head assessed that the “customs service between Serbia and Kosovo” was still not working properly but that there was “willingness to solve the problem”. “Control in the north is not complete, but there is some kind of control. Our customs workers and border police are there 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The products coming in from Serbia to Kosovo are registered by the EULEX customs mission, while the products going to (Kosovska) Mitrovica are subject to full customs control,” he said, adding that EULEX was trying to implement full customs control gradually at all “border crossings” with Serbia. “We are in contact with Serbian official, with whom we are exchanging information and trying to reach a technical agreement, in order to stop smuggling and organized crime,” he said. Kermabon was also quoted as saying that the most troublesome issues in the Kosovo legal system were “ineptness and lack of expert personnel such as judges and prosecutors”. “The second problem is corruption in the legal system, against which we are fighting. As you know, we have already replaced judges and prosecutors,” said he.

“Plan to bring back Serb judges”

“We have already prepared some proposals and are in constant contact with Kosovo institutions, such as the Kosovo Association of Judges. I believe there will be two Serb and two Albanian judges in northern (Kosovska) Mitrovica in the near future,” Kermabon said in an interview for Deutsche Welle.

He pointed out that EULEX was trying to get Belgrade to approve the operation of courts in northern Kosovo.

According to him, EULEX has already begun talks with Belgrade on the legal issues involved. A more efficient technical protocol in the fight against organized crime is also being discussed.

“If you want to be efficient in the fight against organized crime, then you need to know that you cannot limit the fight to Kosovo alone. What is needed is regional cooperation and agreement between courts, customs and police services. Exchange of information and good coordination is essential,” Kermabon said.

“This is why EULEX decided to work towards agreements with the entire region, Serbia included.The idea is to reach technical cooperation agreements between courts and customs services in order to efficiently fight organized crime. The process will be completely transparent and conducted in cooperation with the Belgrade and Priština authorities, since exchange of information is in everyone's best interest,” Kermabon stressed.

The EULEX head assessed that the “customs service between Serbia and Kosovo” was still not working properly but that there was “willingness to solve the problem”.

“Control in the north is not complete, but there is some kind of control. Our customs workers and border police are there 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The products coming in from Serbia to Kosovo are registered by the EULEX customs mission, while the products going to (Kosovska) Mitrovica are subject to full customs control,” he said, adding that EULEX was trying to implement full customs control gradually at all “border crossings” with Serbia.

“We are in contact with Serbian official, with whom we are exchanging information and trying to reach a technical agreement, in order to stop smuggling and organized crime,” he said.

Kermabon was also quoted as saying that the most troublesome issues in the Kosovo legal system were “ineptness and lack of expert personnel such as judges and prosecutors”.

“The second problem is corruption in the legal system, against which we are fighting. As you know, we have already replaced judges and prosecutors,” said he.