Kosovo

The defendant husband held enduring suspicions that the late victim, his wife, was involved in an extramarital affair, and required her to seek permission to leave their home without his or their children’s accompaniment.  The victim one day attempted to leave the house without the defendant’s permission, resulting in an argument in which he shot and killed her.  The defendant was charged with Aggravated Murder under Article 147 of the Provisional Criminal Code of Kosovo, found guilty, and sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment.  The defendant appealed, arguing that the offense

The victim, a minor of the age of 15, was trafficked by men including defendants I.I. and Sh. G, from Albania to Kosovo, where she was imprisoned and forced to work as dancer at multiple restaurants.  She eventually escaped and met two men who helped her find accommodations and work as a waitress.  One of the men, S.B., had sexual intercourse with her, as did D.B., the manager who hired her as a waitress.  I.I., Sh.

In the prosecution of an international human trafficking ring, B.D., a nightclub owner, was charged with Facilitating Prostitution in violation of Article 201 of the Provisional Criminal Code of Kosovo, for recruiting and organizing 16 Moldovan women for prostitution.  His co-defendants B.J., M.G., and S.Z.

The applicant was registered as female at birth, but has always identified himself as male.  He lived and appeared as a man in all areas of life, and had begun hormonal treatment to transition.  The applicant filed a request with the Civil Status Office to change his name and gender marker to reflect his male gender identity, but the request was rejected.

The applicant (former husband) and his former wife purchased an apartment during their marriage, with the applicant’s father contributing to the purchase as well.  The parties concluded an agreement stipulating that, in case of dispute, the parties agreed that the ownership of the apartment would be divided based on each party’s investment.  After their divorce, the applicant filed a claim for the division of the property.  The Municipal Court rejected the claim and, deeming the applicant’s father’s contribution to be an assistance to both spouses, ruled that the applicant an

The applicant was a judge on the Court of Appeals and was a candidate in the election for the President of the Court of Appeals.  She received the highest number of points among the three candidates in the candidate evaluation commissioned by the Kosovo Judicial Council (KJC, the body which administers the judiciary).  During the voting by the KJC, the applicant was voted on first, but did not receive the necessary majority of votes.  The voting then moved on to the second-ranked candidate, who won the overwhelming share of votes and was elected.  Upon losing, the applic

The deceased victim D.K. met her partner A.J. in secondary school, formed a union with him, and gave birth to a daughter.  D.K. subsequently filed a claim to dissolve the union and for child custody at the Municipal Court because of a deterioration in her relationship with A.J. She also took their daughter to live with her parents.  Following continuous threats by A.J., D.K. submitted a request to the Municipal Court for an emergency protection order under the Law on Protection from Domestic Violence.

The applicant (wife), her husband, and their children lived in Austria and held dual Austrian and Kosovar citizenship.  After marriage problems arose between the couple, the husband took the children away from the wife while they were in Kosovo and kept them away from her.  The husband’s family wanted to resolve the matter according to Albanian tradition, causing the wife to fear that the children would stay with the father.  She thus initiated legal proceedings for the children’s return to Austria.  Pursuant to The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International

The applicant, a local employee of the UN mission in Kosovo, was arrested and charged with various criminal offenses, including facilitating or compelling prostitution (Article 241 of the Criminal Code of Kosovo).  The Basic Court found him guilty and sentenced him to 14 years imprisonment.  The Court of Appeal affirmed the guilty verdict.  The applicant filed a request for protection of legality with the Supreme Court, which rejected the request.

The applicant, President of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, referred to the Constitutional Court an amendment to the Constitution proposed by numerous deputies, and requested the court to make a prior assessment whether the proposed amendment diminishes any rights or freedoms under the Constitution.  The amendment stipulates that no gender can be represented less than 40% in the positions of ministers and deputy ministers in the government.  The proponents argued that a gender quota was needed because women represented no more than 10-15% in ministerial positions and the L