The paper today runs an opinion piece by Andrea Capussela, former head of the economics unit of the International Civilian Office in Kosovo, on the recent developments in the Kosovo Assembly. “I continually read that police and prosecutors plan to arrest the Kosovo Assembly MPs for throwing teargas in the Assembly and who are now not responding to the prosecution’s invitation to be interviewed. But, if they arrest the MPs, they would violate the Constitution of Kosovo. Article 75.2 says an MP cannot be arrested or otherwise detained while he performs his/her duties of being a member of the Assembly, without the approval of the majority of all the MPs. If any member of the Assembly is arrested without consent, those who made the arrest should be charged with kidnapping,” Capussela writes.

He further argues that one can question whether this rule makes sense or not. “I see two main arguments here. On one hand, one can argue that in a country where high-level crime and impunity are widespread, it is counterproductive to keep parliamentary immunity: a seat in the Assembly can be converted into a permit for theft. On the other hand, someone else might retaliate by saying that in a country where the judiciary is subject to politico-economic elite - the removal of parliamentary immunity can become a permit to silence the opposition by jailing them."

According to Capussela, the MPs should have parliamentary immunity. “The Constitution must be respected, prosecutors must seek the consent of the Assembly before any arrest of its members. However, none of these justifies the MPs throwing teargas. I think what they did is wrong and counterproductive; and I would not be surprised if it constitutes a crime,” the author concludes.