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06/04/2004
New laws set to help reduce tensions in Kosovo
Less than three weeks after the worst unrest to hit Kosovo since the UN took over its administration nearly five years ago, the ethnically divided province today marked what its top administrator called a “crucial milestone” with the entry into force of two new criminal codes.
The two codes, the Provisional Criminal Code and the Provisional Criminal Procedure Code, bring the law in Kosovo into greater conformity with regional and European standards and ensure consistency with modern principles of international law, in particular international human rights law.
The move follows on from last month between ethnic Albanians and Serbs that led to the deaths of 19 people and injured hundreds more.
Speaking in the Kosovan capital of Pristina, Kofi Annan’s Special Representative Harri Holkeri said: “To those who try to assert violence over the ‘rule of law,’ this should come as a reminder that the laws and institutions we are establishing in Kosovo are irreversible.
“This is a significant day for Kosovo. The entry into force of the two Codes constitutes a crucial milestone for the inhabitants of Kosovo and for UNMIK’s efforts to establish the rule of law in Kosovo.”
International conventions relating to terrorism, organized crime and corruption have been reflected in the codes, which also deal with trafficking in persons among other offences.
“We have a clear and definite agenda for Kosovo, and that is to take it forward on the path of democratic self-governance through legal and constitutional means in cooperation with Kosovo’s Provisional Institutions,” Mr Holkeri said.
(gmcg)
The two codes, the Provisional Criminal Code and the Provisional Criminal Procedure Code, bring the law in Kosovo into greater conformity with regional and European standards and ensure consistency with modern principles of international law, in particular international human rights law.
The move follows on from last month between ethnic Albanians and Serbs that led to the deaths of 19 people and injured hundreds more.
Speaking in the Kosovan capital of Pristina, Kofi Annan’s Special Representative Harri Holkeri said: “To those who try to assert violence over the ‘rule of law,’ this should come as a reminder that the laws and institutions we are establishing in Kosovo are irreversible.
“This is a significant day for Kosovo. The entry into force of the two Codes constitutes a crucial milestone for the inhabitants of Kosovo and for UNMIK’s efforts to establish the rule of law in Kosovo.”
International conventions relating to terrorism, organized crime and corruption have been reflected in the codes, which also deal with trafficking in persons among other offences.
“We have a clear and definite agenda for Kosovo, and that is to take it forward on the path of democratic self-governance through legal and constitutional means in cooperation with Kosovo’s Provisional Institutions,” Mr Holkeri said.
(gmcg)
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