The Ombudsperson, today submitted the legal opinion further to the responsible authorities in quality of Amicus Curiae (friend of the court) concerning the case 406/2016, Nazmi Abazi and others.

Numerous cases where local courts deliver judgments on cases arguing the same legal matters, but differ in their outcome have driven the Ombudsperson to provide this legal opinion, summarizing his position on this matter.

By issuing different judgment on the same matter, courts have therefore questioned the matter of legal certainty and the right provided by the Constitution and other legal instruments for protection of human rights.

This amicus curiae focuses on legal certainty as a fundamental principle of the rule of law, with a focus on judicial judgments issued by the courts in cases tried. Prevention of legal uncertainty contributes to enhancing trust in the judicial system, advancing the rule of law and the prohibition of violating human rights guaranteed by international instruments and the Constitution.

In this legal opinion, the Ombudsperson concludes that issuing different judgments on the same matter, the courts violate the right to a fair trial guaranteed by the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) and the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo.

To prevent recurrence of this situation and aiming to avoid further legal uncertainty, the Ombudsperson considers that attention should be paid to the practice of the European Court of Human Rights, which stipulates that the guarantees found within in the ECHR involve an obligation for the court to provide adequate reasoning for their decisions and final judgments cannot be questioned by other judgments. Further on, consideration should be given to the courts’ obligation to publish final judgments, which affect legal certainty.

Full format of the Opinion was delivered to the media today and it can be found on the OI’s official website.