As the verdict in the case against Hashim Thaci and his co-defendants at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers approaches, a difficult question comes into focus: what is achieved when justice is delivered in a form that the affected society largely rejects?
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International criminal justice measures itself through procedures – fair trials, due process, and judicial independence.
By those standards, the trial of Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi – former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA – at the Hague-based Kosovo Specialist Chambers, KSC, is presented as compliant with formal legal norms. Yet this claim is increasingly contested.
A recent report by the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, BIICL, titled The Kosovo Specialist Chambers: Compliance with Human Rights Standards, identifies serious concerns regarding prolonged pre-trial detention, restrictions on provisional release, the admission of evidence, and equality of arms.
These findings reinforce the widespread perception in Kosovo that the court is not only politically shaped but also procedurally imbalanced.
The credibility deficit surrounding the trial casts a shadow over the anticipated verdict. Against this background, the central issue is no longer only what the court will decide, but how its decision will be received.