# Foundational texts — KSC

The instruments that may be cited from project knowledge when present.

## 1. Article 162 of the Constitution of Kosovo (Amendment 24, 2015)

**Adopted:** August 2015 as part of a package of constitutional amendments that authorised the establishment of the Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor's Office.

**Function:** provides the constitutional basis for the KSC. Article 162 authorises:
- The establishment of Specialist Chambers and a Specialist Prosecutor's Office "to ensure secure, independent, impartial, fair and efficient criminal proceedings in relation to allegations of grave trans-boundary and international crimes"
- The Specialist Chambers and SPO operate "within the justice system of Kosovo" but with structures and modalities adapted from international practice
- Their seat outside Kosovo (operationalised by the 2016 Host State Agreement with the Netherlands)
- Their temporary mandate

This is the **constitutional anchor** of the KSC. The KSC is a *Kosovo court* — not an international tribunal *stricto sensu* — and Article 162 is the doctrinal source of that characterisation.

## 2. Law No. 05/L-053 on Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor's Office

**Adopted:** 3 August 2015 by the Kosovo Assembly.

**Function:** the principal substantive legal framework for the KSC and SPO. **The KSC has no separate "Statute"** in the sense the ICC, ICTY, ICTR or STL do — Law 05/L-053 is the equivalent of a Statute, and is conventionally referred to as "the Law" in KSC filings and scholarship.

**Key articles:**

- **Article 1** — Object: establishes the KSC and SPO.
- **Article 3** — Status and seat: the KSC and SPO have a seat in Kosovo but may operate outside, currently in The Hague.
- **Articles 6-9** — Subject-matter jurisdiction:
  - **Art. 6** — Jurisdiction over crimes against humanity (committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against any civilian population)
  - **Art. 7** — Jurisdiction over war crimes (in international and non-international armed conflicts)
  - **Art. 8** — Jurisdiction over other crimes under Kosovo law (including provisions of the 1976 Yugoslav Criminal Code applicable at the time)
  - **Art. 9** — Crimes against the administration of justice (contempt, obstruction)
- **Article 10** — Personal and territorial jurisdiction: persons of any nationality for crimes committed in Kosovo, in Albania (the camps), or against citizens of Kosovo or the FRY.
- **Article 12** — Temporal jurisdiction: **1 January 1998 – 31 December 2000**.
- **Articles 13-18** — Applicable substantive law: Kosovo law (including the 1976 Yugoslav Criminal Code as applicable at the time of conduct), customary international law, international human rights law. Modes of responsibility include direct perpetration, ordering, soliciting, inducing, aiding and abetting, joint criminal enterprise (with reference to Tadić-line ICTY jurisprudence), and command/superior responsibility.
- **Article 22** — Specialist Chambers structure: four chambers at four levels.
  - Basic Court Chamber
  - Court of Appeals Chamber
  - Supreme Court Chamber
  - Constitutional Court Chamber (an unusual feature — handles constitutional referrals concerning KSC matters)
- **Articles 30-31** — Specialist Prosecutor's Office: independent organ for investigation and prosecution. Led by the Specialist Prosecutor (currently Kimberly West, since October 2023; previously Jack Smith (2018-2022) and David Schwendiman (2016-2018)).
- **Article 34** — Detention: the KSC manages its own detention facilities in Scheveningen, The Hague.
- **Article 38** — Independence: judges and prosecutors decide on the basis of facts and law, free from any influence.
- **Article 39** — Cooperation: with Kosovo authorities and third States.
- **Article 40** — Witness protection.
- **Articles 41-43** — Rights of the accused (consistent with international standards), witness protection, victim participation.

## 3. Rules of Procedure and Evidence before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers

**Adopted** by the judges in plenary, amended periodically.

**Particularly relevant rules:**
- **Rule 113** — Victim participation (the principal rule governing the role of victims in proceedings; victim status is granted by the Pre-Trial Judge)
- **Rule 130** — Defence motion for dismissal of charges after the close of the Prosecution case
- **Rule 168** — Reparation proceedings (in conjunction with Law 05/L-053 Arts. 21-22)
- **Rule 152** — Confirmation of indictment
- **Rule 173-178** — Trial
- **Rule 180-181** — Sentencing

**The revision in force at the date of a cited decision controls.**

## 4. Host State Agreement between Kosovo and the Netherlands

**Signed:** 15 February 2016.

**Function:** establishes the **Kosovo Relocated Specialist Judicial Institution (KRSJI)** as the name of the KSC and SPO for the purposes of their operation in The Hague. Provides privileges and immunities, security, premises, and the legal framework for the KSC's operation outside Kosovo.

**Article 3** — KRSJI has a seat in the Host State (Netherlands).
**Article 4** — Netherlands undertakes to host the KRSJI "for the sole purpose, and for the duration, of the relocated criminal proceedings".

## Working with foundational texts in project knowledge

Recommended workflow:
1. Add **Law 05/L-053** to project knowledge.
2. Add the **Rules of Procedure and Evidence** (the revision in force for the work).
3. Optionally add **Article 162 of the Constitution of Kosovo** and the **Marty Report** (Council of Europe Doc. 12462, 2011) for background.

If not in project knowledge, retrieve from scp-ks.org/en/documents.