Adoption of Draft Law on Execution of Penal Sanctions prevents interference in judiciary

Today, the Draft Law on Execution of Penal Sanctions has been approved in the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo. On this occasion, the Minister of Justice, Dhurata Hoxha, emphasized that the adoption of this draft law is of particular importance because it prevents political interference in the execution of penal sanctions.

“With this draft law we prove that we really are for reforms, rule of law, and a system of international values and principles”, said Minister Hoxha.

The Minister specifically noted the amendment to Article 94 of the Law, according to which the Minister, as a political appointee, had the competence to suspend the execution of the sentence and thus was considered as an opportunity for political interference in justice.

“This issue has now been solved and such competence has been vested on the court, as a competent institution. We consider that, except being in accordance with the constitutional principles, this solution is in conformity with international standards and an important step towards the separation of powers, wherein the court decides on the sentence and the possibility of suspension, whereas the Ministry of Justice only executes such decisions”, said Minister Hoxha.
The Law on Execution of Penal Sanctions has begun implementing since 2013, and during its implementation several obstacles and difficulties have been encountered and the Ministry of Justice, through this draft law, aimed at eliminating such shortcomings in the execution of penal sanctions.

The draft law contains provisions referring to the issue of conditional release, including the composition of the conditional release panel, the possibility of appealing the decision of the panel, the health care for the convicted persons, the provisions referring to the compassionate leave, the suspension of imprisonment sentence execution due to health reasons, the early release of the convicted person, and the harmonization of the provisions of this draft law with the reforms envisaged by the Law on Minor Offenses.