The Kosovo Ministry of Justice, within the framework of completing legal infrastructure in the field of justice, presented in Gracanica the “Civil Code Phase 2”, which aims to finalize a comprehensive modern code that meets European standards, reported RTK2.
The EU invested more than 2.3 million euros in this project, which continues to provide assistance in aligning Kosovo’s legislation with European standards and strengthening the rule of law.
European Union Project Manager Alfons Lentze said that all citizens can find themselves in the civil code and can enjoy the rights guaranteed by law.
As a participant in the project ‘Support to Civil Law’, Hahxi Gashi said that it was the law that regulates citizens’ relations, including obligatory relations, property issues, family and inheritance issues as those were the issues they face on daily bases.
Judges, lawyers and notaries made their opinions and made recommendations regarding the existing Civil Code.
Lawyer from Gracanica Ljubinko Todorovic said that when these laws are drafted and done, they follow the rest of the laws that are important for procedural law and the application of the process in courts and other institutions. He added that unfortunately, the property of non-majority communities has been compromised for years and said that in practice they faced cases where even notices on usurped property couldn’t be delivered.
According to the UNHCR representative, returnees, displaced persons, and internally displaced persons have so far not been recognized as a category that deserves special attention.
“I think that the category of returnees and displaced persons should be represented in this Code especially, that we have one working group that will specifically work on the national strategy for property rights, how much the category is present in the Civil Code. For example, the latest law on land allocation does not recognize this category as special, although the strategy recommended it,” said UNHCR representative Tamara Grujic.
Another lawyer from Gracanica Milka Milosavljevic said that the Law on the Inheritance needs a good correction and based on her experience she was convinced that men and women are not equal when the right to inheritance was in question.
“When it comes to women’s rights, one provision refers to the transparency of inheritance rights, but if they give up from the right to inheritance, it will be treated as a gift contract and provisions will apply in accordance with this agreement,” says Gashi.
In the chapter of the National Strategy on the Rights of Non-Majority Communities, special attention was dedicated to promotion of this law in these communities.
“This is not just a problem of non-majority communities, but it is a problem for all communities in Kosovo. Many Kosovo citizens from a majority community living outside Kosovo have problems with property, expropriation and documents,” said the participant of the National Property Rights Program, Xhevat Azemi.
The Ministry of Justice, the European Union, the Bar Association of Kosovo, the judicial authorities, as well as the civil society participated in the drafting of the “Civil Code Phase 2”.
This law is made according to the German one and corresponds to European standards.
