Pristina, September 9, 2026 – Through this opinion, the Ombudsperson presents a general position regarding the process of reducing the coefficients of certain public officials—following their initial assignment upon the entry into force of Law No. 08/L-196 on Public Sector Salaries (the Salary Law) – in light of constitutional and legal guarantees concerning fundamental human rights and freedoms.

Given that the Ombudsperson has received several complaints regarding this matter and noting that these circumstances affect a relatively large number of public officials, the institution has opened a case *ex officio* to analyze and investigate the issue of coefficient adjustment/reduction following their initial assignment when the Salary Law came into effect.

The Ombudsperson assesses that the process of altering coefficients is an administrative procedure that must be conducted in full compliance with the provisions of the Law on General Administrative Procedure. The Ombudsperson considers that the concepts of legitimate and reasonable expectation and legal certainty enable subjects to base their actions on legal provisions and the circumstances defined therein, as well as to exercise the rights deriving from those provisions.

The Ombudsperson emphasizes that administrative actions with retroactive effect must be clearly grounded in legal provisions; in this specific case, however, it is unclear—or not evident—whether the administrative bodies took into account the provisions of the Law on General Administrative Procedure when they corrected or reduced the coefficients of public officials.

In this regard, the Ombudsperson has been unable to determine whether the retroactive adjustment of public officials’ coefficients was carried out in accordance with the conditions set out in the Law on General Administrative Procedure, which govern the annulment of administrative acts with retroactive effect.

Regarding this matter, the Ombudsperson holds the view that public officials should not feel insecure about potential measures to alter their existing coefficient and salary status unless the conditions and procedures prescribed by law have been fully met. In this way, the principles of legal certainty and legitimate expectation would be upheld; these principles imply that the legal circumstances affecting public officials may only be altered in accordance with conditions and procedures clearly defined by legal provisions.

Ultimately, the Ombudsperson considers that the actions taken by the Department for the Management of Public Officials (DMPO) and other institutions—whose employees have lodged complaints with the Ombudsperson’s Office—must embody the spirit of the rule of law and align with the concepts of legitimate and reasonable expectation and legal certainty.

Therefore, the Ombudsperson assesses that, in the case at hand, the requirement for employees to retroactively repay the salary difference resulting from a change in their coefficient does not appear to reflect the spirit of the rule of law or the concepts of legitimate and reasonable expectation and legal certainty; furthermore, it appears to have resulted in an infringement of their property rights.