Country Reports - Rule of Law Programme Southeast Europe
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Country Reports
Short political reports of the KAS offices abroad
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IBAR: The Interim Benchmark Assessment Report in the EU Accession Process
The role and significance of the IBAR as a milestone of European integration for Montenegro and other Southeast European states.
On June 25, 2024, the European Commission certified that Montenegro was the first country in the Western Balkans to clear the IBAR hurdle. The “Interim Benchmark Assessment Report”, an interim report on the rule of law, serves as a benchmark for the progress of an EU accession candidate in this area. A positive IBAR is a confirmation of the successful steps taken under negotiation chapters 23 (Justice and Fundamental Rights) and 24 (Justice, Freedom and Security) of the accession procedure and points the way for further reforms. The decision was perceived in Montenegro as a positive signal from Brussels and generally as a sign of the EU's growing willingness to accept new members. However, some experts expressed concerns about the standards applied in the reporting process and called for further reforms. But what does the IBAR mean for a country's future path into the EU? This report looks at its relevance in the EU accession process of the candidate countries Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and specifically Montenegro.
Dr. Mahir Muharemović, Dr. Pavel Usvatov
July 25, 2024
Country reports
UN-Gericht zur Rolle Serbiens bei Kriegsverbrechen in Bosnien und Herzegowina
Abschluss der rechtlichen Aufarbeitung und mögliche Konsequenzen
Der Internationale Residualmechanismus für die Ad-hoc-Strafgerichtshöfe (IRMCT1) in Den Haag hat am
31. Mai 2023 die letzte Entscheidung im Zusammenhang mit jugoslawischen Kriegsverbrechen gefällt.
Das Urteil ist aus zwei Gründen von Bedeutung: Erstens stellt das Gericht in diesem Urteil fest, dass
Serbien entgegen der jahrelangen Leugnung durch offizielle Stellen in die Verbrechen während des
Jugoslawienkriegs in Bosnien unmittelbar involviert war. Zweitens markiert dieses Urteil das Ende der
Gerichtsverfahren vor internationalen Strafgerichten, die sich mit Kriegsverbrechen und der Frage der
Verantwortung für Kriegsverbrechen auf dem Boden des ehemaligen Jugoslawiens befassen. Damit eröffnet
es den Opfern potenzielle Klagemöglichkeiten wegen Wiedergutmachung.
Dr. Pavel Usvatov
June 1, 2023
Country reports
Rechtsstaatsprogramm Südosteuropa
Rechtsstaatsentwicklungen im Überblick: Turbulentes Wahljahr in Bosnien und Herzegowina
Rettungsversuche des gestörten Rechtssystems und wesentliche Entscheidungen des Hohen Repräsentanten Christian Schmidt
Bosnien und Herzegowina (BiH) durchlebt seit Mitte 2021 eine tiefe verfassungsrechtliche und politische Krise. Nachdem 2021 mehrere Entscheidungen des Verfassungsgerichts von BiH (VerfG BiH) und eine wichtige Entscheidung des Hohen Repräsentanten für BiH (HR BiH) zur Frage des Staatseigentums und der Kompetenzen des Staates BiH ergangen waren, hat es auf der gesamtstaatlichen Ebene keine nennenswerte gesetzgeberische Aktivität gegeben. Damit sind das Parlament und die Regierung von BiH ihren gesetzlichen Aufgaben nicht nachgekommen und haben faktisch weiter an Bedeutung verloren. Die Schwächung des Zentralstaates nützt indessen den Sezessionisten in BiH, die den Staat zunehmend destabilisieren. Das VerfG BiH und der HR mussten im Jahr 2022 mehrere bedeutende Entscheidungen treffen. Diese Entscheidungen und die unter diesen schwierigen Rahmenbedingungen am 2. Oktober 2022 erfolgreich abgehaltenen Wahlen lassen hoffen, dass die Organe des Gesamtstaates gefestigt werden. Die Verleihung des Status eines EU-Beitrittskandidaten am 15.12.2022 könnte zudem zum Momentum für eine dringend notwendige Verbesserung der Rechtsstaatlichkeit in BiH werden.
Dr. Pavel Usvatov, Dr. Mahir Muharemović
December 22, 2022
Country reports
Cédric Puisney / flickr / CC BY 2.0 / creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
ECJ ruling on Romania. Failed „Judicial Reform“ of the PSD led former Governments
European Court of Justice rules: there is a significant need to improve the Romanian judicial laws amended between 2017-2019 by governments of the PSD
On May 18, 2021, in a long-awaited judgment, the ECJ ruled on the legal nature of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (also referred to as the "Mechanism for the cooperation and verification of Romania's progress" - henceforth: CVM) and the EU Commission's progress reports, and their binding effect for the Romanian courts. In addition, the ECJ commented on various legal changes concerning the institutional design of the judiciary in Romania, introduced by the judicial reform in 2017-2019 and heavily criticized by the public. However, a clear distinction must be made here between the phase of PSD-led governments, during which these "reforms" were decided, and that of the governments led by the EPP member party PNL. The PNL has been in government since October 2019 and rejects the PSD "reforms", currently reversing them in the parliamentary process.
Romania as part of the Balkan route and possible further focal point of European migration policy
Recently, media attention focused on the increasingly precarious situation at the European Union’s external borders in the Mediterranean area. Yet, the dilemma of Europe’s migration policy is found at the Union’s Eastern borders as well. Once again, reception centres are overwhelmed. Once again, many migrants seek to avoid registration to be able to continue their journey to particular EU member states, such as France or Germany. Many seek shelter in abandoned houses and vacant buildings which lack access to clean water, electricity, and heating. And once again, migrants attempt to cross the frontier eluding border guards. This situation is indeed not new. It stood in the focus of attention in Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially in last year’s winter.
But this time the "game", that is, the repeated attempt to cross the border unrecognised, is not only taking place at the notorious borders like the Bosnian one. The "game," as the migrants themselves call it when they repeatedly try to cross the border illegally until they succeed, has shifted. While the so-called Balkan route used to run mainly through Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia and Hungary, now Romania has become part of the route. Why has Romania become another stop of the "Game" now?
Hartmut Rank, Dr. La Toya Waha
May 27, 2021
Country reports
Cédric Puisney / flickr / CC BY 2.0 / creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
Romania's judiciary before the ECJ
An investigation into the so-called “judicial laws”, the legality of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM), and rulings of the Romanian Constitutional Court
Since joining the European Union, Romania has been in the process of evolving towards harmonization with the fundamental principles for which the EU stands. The European Commission has been supporting this process through the Cooperation and Control Mechanism (CVM) from the moment of the accession in 2007. As part of the monitoring, which was originally planned to be short-term but now lasted for almost a decade and a half, the European Commission reports annually on the progress of the member states Bulgaria and Romania with regard to the situation of the rule of law:
At the moment, several cases dealing with central aspects of the Romanian judicial system are pending before the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ). In addition to an assessment of the controversial judicial reforms in Romania in 2017-2019, the question of the extent to which the CVM recommendations of the EU Commission are binding is another subject of decisions to be expected shortly. The analysis of the cases pending before the Court of Justice in Luxembourg and the applications of the Advocate General already allows for a number of conclusions to be drawn.
Hartmut Rank, Christoph Popa
March 23, 2021
Country reports
wikimedia/Pudelek/CC BY-SA 4.0
Belated lustration in the Republic of Moldova
A pretext to strengthen the PSRM
The current draft law for a lustration in the Republic of Moldova, in its current form, will further strengthen the politicization of the civil service and take the wind out of the sails of the efforts to fight corruption.
Stanislav Splavnic, Hartmut Rank
December 22, 2020
Country reports
Estonian Foreign Ministry / flickr / CC BY 2.0 / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
Unstable Political Situation in Kosovo
The Kosovo Special Tribunal Confirms the Most Important Charges
On 5 November, Hashim Thaçi, President of the Republic of Kosovo and former political leader of the UÇK (Kosovo Liberation Army), resigned from office as State President following confirmation of his indictment by the Kosovo Special Tribunal in the Hague. During a press conference, Thaçi explained that he would step down as President to safeguard the integrity of Kosovo and would present himself to the Hague. A few hours earlier, Kadri Veseli, Leader of the PDK (Democratic Party of Kosovo, third strongest party in the 2019 elections), former President of the Parliament and Chief of the Kosovo Secret Service during the war, declared that the indictment against him had also been confirmed in the Hague, and that he would voluntarily present himself to the Special Tribunal.
Norbert Beckmann-Dierkes, Hartmut Rank
November 11, 2020
Country reports
Denis Simonet / flickr / CC BY 2.0
Camelia Bogdan v. Romania: a case of arbitrary suspension of a judge
European Court of Human Rights: Romanian judge Camelia Bogdan, who was suspended from the judicial service in her home country, had no legal remedy
The case "Camelia Bogdan v. Romania", involving a Romanian judge, represents a further stage in the litigations of representatives of the Romanian judiciary before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). The case is to be viewed in the context of the disputes between the Romanian judiciary and the Social Democrat-led coalition in power until 2019. Camelia Bogdan (the applicant) was temporarily suspended from her office for questionable reasons without being able to effectively challenge the relevant decision. This is illegal according to a decision of the ECtHR of October 2020. Her right to a fair trial (Article 6 (1) ECHR) was infringed.
Hartmut Rank, Stanislav Splavnic
October 30, 2020
Country reports
wikimedia/Pudelek/CC BY-SA 4.0
Controversial NGO law passed in the Republic of Moldova
Support of political parties is crucial
On June 11, 2020, the Moldovan parliament passed the new “Law on Non-Governmental Organizations” (NGO law). It quickly became a bone of contention within the government led by the Socialist Party (PSRM). A reform of this law was mentioned as a prerequisite for further macro-financial assistance by the EU. The main innovations concern rules for the support of political parties provided by NGOs. Close to a month after its adoption, the official legal text is still not available, however key elements are known and are briefly presented below.
