It is because, in line with the regulation, courts ought to instruct victims in battle crime trials to say compensation in civil proceedings. However that is sophisticated, officers say.
Compensation from the state might be requested if the sufferer is unable to get restitution from the convicted defendant or from different sources.
However Nesrin Lushta, head of the Committee for Crime Victims Compensation, which is a part of the Ministry of Justice and allows victims of violent crimes to use for compensation funds, cautioned that the state of affairs for victims in battle crime instances “is difficult in lots of features”.
“It’s a bit tough to deal correctly with this class of victims [of war crimes] as a result of the regulation got here into drive in 2015 and we can’t compensate victims retroactively,” Lushta instructed BIRN in an interview.
“However even within the instances after this time [2015], we haven’t had any request for compensation from victims in battle crimes trials,” she added.
On the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague, which was set as much as strive former Kosovo Liberation Military guerrillas for battle crimes, additionally it is unclear how tough will probably be for victims to get compensation.
Though based mostly within the Netherlands and staffed by internationals, the Kosovo Specialist Chambers are a part of Kosovo’s justice system. Nonetheless, Kosovo’s Legislation on the Kosovo Specialist Chambers doesn’t set particular standards to determine through which circumstances compensation might be awarded. This was highlighted by a ruling final yr within the case in opposition to Kosovo Liberation Military ex-guerrilla Salih Mustafa.
After the ruling, the Victims Participation’s Workplace on the Specialist Chambers requested three worldwide specialists to evaluate the state of affairs. The specialists’ stories revealed in late December 2021 cautioned that victims will face “serious problems” in securing compensation.
Lushta, who can also be a decide at Kosovo’s Supreme Courtroom, stated that victims in battle crimes instances might be compensated by the committee that she leads.
“We compensate victims of murders, trafficking, crimes in opposition to sexual integrity and home violence. However in line with the regulation we will compensate victims of different varieties of violence. This offers us house for compensation of these [war crimes] victims,” she defined.
“If the crime is homicide, whether or not it’s or is just not a battle crime case, we have now no authorized obstacle to compensating victims. Whereas there is no such thing as a different mechanism that offers with the compensation of victims, I don’t see any downside for this class of victims to be compensated by us,” she added.
Nonetheless, victims who’ve their identities hid to guard them throughout legal proceedings can’t do the identical in civil proceedings.
They should disclose their names to pursue a civil lawsuit, and likewise in the event that they search compensation from the Committee for Crime Victims Compensation. This might put their lives at severe danger of violent retribution.
“On this state of affairs, a authorized clarification can also be wanted as a result of if the victims are nameless, we will’t compensate them, as a result of their id can also be hidden within the court docket rulings. Meaning we will’t establish if they’re the identical individuals or not,” stated Lushta.
