Thank you very much!
Honourable President of the Constitutional Court, Ms. Caka-Nimani,
Honourable Presidents of Constitutional Courts from various Balkan countries,
Representatives of the European Court of Human Rights,
Professors of Constitutional Law and International Law,
Former Judges,
Honourable Ambassadors to the Republic of Kosovo,
Honourable Guests,
I have the honour to address you today at the second annual conference of the Balkan Constitutional Courts Forum and to join the President of the Court in welcoming you to the Republic of Kosovo.
I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate you on the establishment of the Forum of Courts and the organization of annual conferences, such as this one today. I am convinced that the establishment of this forum will further enhance cooperation between Constitutional Courts towards the highest standards of interpretation of the Constitution and in the function of protecting and guaranteeing human rights and freedoms.
Today, I am also pleased that the second conference of this forum finds the participating courts gathered in the capital of our Republic, which also coincides with the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Court.
The Republic of Kosovo remains committed to the fundamental principles of democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights and freedoms, which are embodied as the fundamental values of our constitutional order and are established in the very foundations of our state.
Our Constitution is extremely unique, among other things, for the fact that it assigns to the President of the country an extremely important and substantial duty: the duty to guarantee the constitutional functioning of all institutions of the Republic of Kosovo. This is one of the main duties of this institution and during these years of my mandate I have been guided every day by this sacred duty while exercising all my powers.
In interpreting the Constitution, its letter and spirit, the constitutional courts today represent the culminating institution. They carry an extremely great mission and responsibility, especially in new democracies such as our Republic, in guaranteeing, but also affirming the constitutional principles, of the constitutions from which their legitimacy derives. As Judge Traja rightly said, a Constitution has meaning only when it is the basis and summit of a legal system, when it is protected from norms and acts that violate its unity, that is, when there is a guaranteeing and controlling function and a special institution that carries out this control, such as the Constitutional Court.
The development of constitutional justice is inevitable and linked to the development of legal sciences, therefore, when we find ourselves in such conferences and forums, we are obliged to reflect on the idea of the prominent German jurist, Kotz, who considered that: “no study deserves the name of a science, if it is limited only to phenomena that arise within its national borders”.
Thus, collaborations such as this conference today, increase the possibility that the interpretation of the Constitution, which is the epicenter of the activity of a constitutional court, will be, among other things, a comparative interpretation.
Can we imagine an isolated court decision today?! How can such a decision be advanced with contemporary standards of guaranteeing freedoms and human rights, if as such it is not subject to a comparative assessment with the practices of other countries? Moreover, today we are all witnesses of the decisions of the constitutional courts which, in the essence of their interpretation, also have the comparison and connection of the facts and constitutional arguments with the practice of one or several other courts.
Therefore, a round table like this one today, where from what I saw from the agenda, constitutional issues are treated from the perspective of different practices, is also a good opportunity to benefit from the experiences of the courts among themselves, experiences that are undoubtedly of great help to each judge in a given case.
Let me reiterate that the Republic of Kosovo, throughout its 16 years of existence and the 15 years of existence of the Constitutional Court, has set an exceptionally good example of the rule of law, and in particular, the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo have shown a high institutional culture and responsibility in respecting the decisions of the Constitutional Court, even though there are many cases when they did not like them. On the other hand, the practice of this court has been enriched by the principles and standards established by the European Court of Human Rights, which continues to serve as a guide in building values and increasing legal certainty for the citizens of our Republic.
As you know, this standard is also embodied in our Constitution itself, which requires that the decisions of our country’s public institutions related to human rights must be in accordance with the standards of the European Court of Human Rights, which has been respected and continues to be respected, but also an additional argument why Kosovo has deserved and continues to deserve to be a full member of the Council of Europe.
Finally, as we mark this 15th anniversary, I would like to express my willingness as President of the Republic to continue cooperating with all of you in the service of the Constitution and the interests of the country and our citizens without distinction. A democracy and a Constitution can be said to have been fully successful only when all of us, whether in political institutions or in the courts, including the Constitutional Court, understand that no one, no one is above the Constitution.
Thank you!
