A Conversation with Judges Caka-Nimani and Yudkivska: Perspectives from the European Court of Human Rights and the Kosovo Constitutional Court
International and foreign tribunals play crucial roles in upholding the rule of law around the world and in specific nation states. Set up in 1959, the European Court of Human Rights is an international court based in Strasbourg that rules on individual or State applications alleging violations of the civil and political rights set out in the European Convention on Human Rights. The Court’s case-law makes the Convention a modern and powerful living instrument for meeting challenges and consolidating the rule of law and democracy in Europe.
Since Kosovo’s declared independence from Serbia’s de jure jurisdiction in 2008, many countries and international organizations, such as the United Nations, have had conflicting opinions on whether or not to recognize it as a sovereign state. As legal, political and territorial disputes between Kosovo and Serbia continue to emerge through legal cases such as the Azemi Case at the Strasbourg Court (2009) and D.L. v. Austria (2017), the Council of Europe, among others, are examining Kosovo’s membership candidacy to the European Union. The Kosovo Constitutional Court is the final authority in the Republic of Kosovo for the interpretation of the Constitution and the compliance of laws with the Constitution. As a relatively young court, established shortly after Kosovo’s independence in 2009, it provides a tangible and timely example of the important role a foreign tribunal can play in the maintenance of the rule of law and the continuance of a country’s institutions.
Join Judge Gresa Caka-Nimani, the President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Kosovo and Judge Ganna Yudkivska, Ukraine’s Judge at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), as they share their perspectives on their work, the role of their courts, and insights into opportunities to clerk for international and foreign tribunals.
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