KLI urges Government to reconsider the Draft Anti-Corruption Strategy

KLI urges Government to reconsider the Draft Anti-Corruption Strategy

KLI urges Government to reconsider the Draft Anti-Corruption Strategy

Pristina, January 16, 2025 – Kosovo Law Institute (KLI), with the support of the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), through a press release, publishes the analytical report “The Saga of the Anti-Corruption Strategy,” in which the Draft Anti-Corruption Strategy published by the Prime Minister’s Office is analysed.

Initially, KLI highlights that Kosovo has not had an Anti-Corruption Strategy since 2019, and the deadline for the completion of the Strategy, which was set for December 1, 2023, has not been met. According to KLI’s findings, despite the unreasonable and unnecessary delays by the current government in approving the strategy, taking steps towards drafting the Anti-Corruption Strategy is a positive move towards fulfilling this legal obligation, on the condition that the comments and recommendations from local and international institutions are carefully considered throughout the public consultation process. KLI’s findings also emphasize that the Government’s Rules of Procedure regarding the deadline for comments were not respected, as only a nine (9) working-day period was given for comments on the consultation platform, ignoring the minimum 15-day period. According to KLI, the Draft Strategy and Draft Action Plan were not prepared in accordance with the Government’s Manual for Planning, Drafting, and Monitoring Strategy Documents and their Action Plans.

Furthermore, KLI finds that this document has substantial shortcomings in identifying the problems, failing to provide a realistic and practical reflection of issues in the field of preventing and combating corruption, thus making it difficult to identify necessary measures.

Among others, the report also highlights that the Draft Strategy includes measures that are not clearly anti-corruption measures. The Draft Strategy lacks important measures in key areas of anti-corruption, and many crucial areas with high potential for preventing and combating corruption are not part of the Draft Strategy.

KLI emphasizes that the Draft Strategy must adequately reflect the factual situation and include practical issues raised by the public in recent years. According to KLI, closed public procurement procedures have raised doubts about the transparency and legality of public spending. It is also mentioned that reports of retaliation against whistleblowers indicate weaknesses in the system’s ability to protect these individuals, who play a key role in exposing abuses.

Furthermore, the report highlights that suspicions of misconduct in various ministries, the use of single-source contracts by the government and municipal levels, and the alleged corruption in public enterprises highlight the need for increased institutional oversight and independence from political influence.

The report also states that suspicions regarding the involvement of senior state officials in unlawful actions and suspicions about issues in the allocation of subsidies, underline the need to address these areas. According to KLI, these issues require a comprehensive approach in the Draft Strategy.

In many cases, the Draft Strategy contains only descriptions of certain resources and not an analytical approach and assessment of data based on these resources. While the focus on digitalization and transparency is considered a positive aspect, KLI highlights the need for specification of actions and risk assessments for this purpose.

KLI has also identified inaccuracies in the content of the Draft Strategy: the Draft Strategy refers to the Transparency International Index for 2024, while it has not yet been published, and it mistakenly refers to the Venice Commission as an European Union body, when it is actually an organ of the Council of Europe.

KLI has recommended to the Government that the Draft Strategy consider the prevention and combating of corruption through a gender dimension. According to KLI, a gender approach in relation to the prevention and combating of corruption would emphasize the importance of including women in anti-corruption efforts.

On the other hand, KLI considers that the Draft Strategy should also address several important measures in the field of preventing and combating corruption, some of which were only mentioned in a general context or within other measures but not adequately addressed. According to IKD, some of the measures that should be included in the Draft Strategy include: 1) Prevention and management of conflicts of interest; 2) Protection of whistleblowers; 3) Assessment of corruption risks in various sectors and evaluation of risks and gaps in legislation (primary and secondary) that may increase corruption; 4) Assessment of whether the legislation complies with international anti-corruption standards, harmonizing the legislation with EU directives; 5) International legal assistance; 6) Membership in international mechanisms; 7) Kosovo Police; 8) Confiscation of illicit assets; 9) Integrity Plans; 10) Secondary level governance; 11) Public discussions in cases of government decisions with broad financial impact, etc.

Additionally, KLI finds that the proposal to expand the competences of the Constitutional Court, making it a supervisory body for the Kosovo Judicial Council and Kosovo Prosecutorial Council, contradicts the Constitution and the role of constitutional justice in Kosovo. According to this report, these measures could limit the independence of judicial institutions and create an imbalance in the separation of powers.

You can find the published report at this link.