# Foundational texts — Reg. 64 Kosovo Panels

## 1. UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999)

**Adopted:** 10 June 1999.

**Function:** the founding instrument of the international civil presence in Kosovo. Authorises:
- The deployment of an **international civil presence** (which became **UNMIK** — UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo)
- The deployment of an **international security presence** (KFOR — Kosovo Force, NATO-led)

Provides for substantial autonomy and self-government for Kosovo within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (subsequently Serbia and Montenegro, then Serbia). Does **not** address Kosovo's final status (which was determined unilaterally by Kosovo's declaration of independence of 17 February 2008, recognised by some States but not by Serbia, Russia, China and others).

**Critical for Reg. 64:** the SRSG's authority to issue UNMIK Regulations including Reg. 2000/64 derives from UNSC Res 1244.

## 2. UNMIK Regulation No. 1999/1 (25 July 1999)

**On the Authority of the Interim Administration in Kosovo.**

**Function:** establishes UNMIK's plenary authority. Provides for **continuity of pre-existing law** as in force on 22 March 1989 (the date of revocation of Kosovo's autonomy under the SFRY constitution), to the extent compatible with UNMIK's mandate and international human rights standards.

The choice of 22 March 1989 as the reference date is **politically significant**: it predates the Milošević-era abrogation of Kosovo's autonomy and the discriminatory legislation that followed. The effect is to apply pre-Milošević Yugoslav law (including the **Yugoslav Federal Criminal Code 1976**) rather than 1990s Serbian-modified law.

## 3. UNMIK Regulation No. 1999/24 (12 December 1999)

**On the Law Applicable in Kosovo.**

**Function:** clarifies the temporal scope of the 22 March 1989 reference: the law in force in Kosovo on 22 March 1989, together with subsequent **non-discriminatory** legislation, applies. Where the 1989 law and subsequent legislation are inconsistent, the 1989 law prevails (unless the subsequent law is non-discriminatory and otherwise valid).

This is the operative instrument fixing the **Yugoslav Federal Criminal Code 1976** as the substantive criminal law for Reg. 64 Panels until the Provisional Criminal Code 2003 entered into force in 2004.

## 4. UNMIK Regulation No. 2000/6 (15 February 2000)

**On the Appointment and Removal from Office of International Judges and International Prosecutors.**

**Function:** the **first formal instrument** of the international judges and prosecutors (IJP) program. Authorises the SRSG to appoint and remove international judges and prosecutors to serve within the Kosovo judicial system. Issued in direct response to the **Mitrovica inter-ethnic violence of February 2000**.

The initial deployment was limited — typically **one international judge and one international prosecutor per district court**. Practical experience revealed that this minority configuration was insufficient because **international judges could be outvoted** by local lay judges on Kosovo's traditional 5-judge mixed panels (2 professional + 3 lay).

## 5. UNMIK Regulation No. 2000/64 (15 December 2000)

**On Assignment of International Judges/Prosecutors and/or Change of Venue.**

**THE OPERATIVE INSTRUMENT creating the "64 Panels".** Key sections:

- **Section 1 — Petition and recommendation:**
  - 1.1: Petition for designation may be made by **prosecutor, defence counsel** (or, where competent, the accused)
  - 1.2: At any stage in criminal proceedings, **DJA on its own motion** may submit recommendation to SRSG
- **Section 2 — Designation and authority:**
  - 2.1: SRSG approves designation
  - 2.2: International judges and prosecutors, upon DJA designation, have **authority throughout Kosovo**
  - 2.3: Change of venue authorisation
- **Panel composition under Reg. 64** (in practice, derived from the regulation's combined operation with Section 3 of UNMIK Reg. 2000/6 and Kosovo procedural law):
  - **3 professional judges** (in place of 5-judge mixed panel)
  - **Minimum 2 international judges** out of the 3
  - This produces **majority international composition** for designated cases
- **Section 3 — Preservation of existing IJP authority:**
  - 3.2: Reg. 64 does not affect the existing authority of international judges/prosecutors under Reg. 2000/6, including their power to select and take responsibility for new and pending criminal cases

**Initial duration:** 12 months from 15 December 2000. **Subsequently extended** through amendments and continuing operation through the UNMIK era.

**Reason cited in preamble:** "the presence of security threats may undermine the independence and impartiality of the judiciary and impede the ability of the judiciary to properly prosecute crimes which gravely undermine the peace process".

## 6. UNMIK Regulation No. 2001/2

**Allows international prosecutors to "resurrect" cases abandoned by Kosovan counterparts.**

**Function:** addresses a practical problem: Kosovo Albanian prosecutors were observed to **selectively decline to prosecute** Albanian defendants for crimes against Serbs or other minorities, or to under-charge them. Reg. 2001/2 enables international prosecutors to **reopen and take over** such cases, ensuring that the prosecution decision is removed from local bias considerations.

Together with Reg. 2000/64, this completes the **majority international control architecture**: 64 Panels (judicial control) + 2001/2 (prosecutorial control).

## 7. UNMIK Regulation No. 2001/9 (15 May 2001)

**Constitutional Framework for Provisional Self-Government in Kosovo.**

**Function:** establishes the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government (PISG) of Kosovo. **Preserves UNMIK reserved powers**, including the international judiciary and the SRSG's authority over Reg. 64 designations.

The Constitutional Framework operated from 2001 until the adoption of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo on 15 June 2008 (following independence on 17 February 2008).

## 8. UNMIK Regulation No. 2003/25 (6 July 2003)

**Provisional Criminal Code of Kosovo.**

**Function:** the new substantive criminal code, replacing the Yugoslav Federal Criminal Code 1976 (as preserved by UNMIK Reg. 1999/24). Incorporates modernised international crimes provisions:
- Genocide (Article 116)
- Crimes against humanity (Article 117) — based on Rome Statute Article 7
- War crimes (Articles 118-121)
- Torture (Article 167)

**Entered into force:** 6 April 2004 (delayed implementation from the 6 July 2003 promulgation).

## 9. UNMIK Regulation No. 2003/26 (6 July 2003)

**Provisional Criminal Procedure Code of Kosovo.**

The matching procedural code. Defines proceedings before Kosovo courts including Reg. 64 Panels.

## 10. Council of the European Union Joint Action 2008/124/CFSP (4 February 2008)

**Establishes EULEX Kosovo (European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo).**

**Function:** authorises EULEX deployment. EULEX assumed Executive Mandate (including international judges and prosecutors) on **9 December 2008**, taking over from UNMIK's reduced post-independence role.

EULEX operated with **executive judicial functions** until **June 2018** (Executive Mandate end), then in **monitoring mode** until **June 2023**, with a reduced continuing mandate thereafter.

## 11. Law No. 2008/03-L053 (13 March 2008)

**Law on the Jurisdiction, Case Selection and Case Allocation of EULEX Judges and Prosecutors in Kosovo.**

Adopted by the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo. Defines the **post-independence successor framework** for international judicial participation. EULEX judges and prosecutors operate under this Law (plus Joint Action 2008/124/CFSP) — analogous to but legally distinct from the UNMIK Reg. 64 framework.

## 12. Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo (15 June 2008)

The constitutional framework adopted following Kosovo's declaration of independence (17 February 2008). Provides for the EULEX international judicial role within the Kosovo court structure.

## 13. Yugoslav Federal Criminal Code (1976)

**The substantive criminal law applied by Reg. 64 Panels 2000-2004** (until the Provisional Criminal Code 2003 entered into force in April 2004). Preserved through UNMIK Reg. 1999/24 (as in force on 22 March 1989).

Key provisions for Reg. 64 Panels:
- **Chapter XVI — Criminal Acts Against Humanity and International Law**:
  - Article 141 — Genocide
  - Articles 142-145 — War crimes
  - Article 146 — Crime against humanity (limited definition)
- Generally **lower maximum sentences** than the 2003 Provisional Code

## Working with foundational texts in project knowledge

Recommended workflow:
1. Add **UNMIK Regulation 2000/64** for the operative mechanism question.
2. Add **UNMIK Regulation 2000/6** for the IJP program institutional foundation.
3. Add **UNSC Res 1244 (1999)** for the broader institutional context.
4. Add the **Provisional Criminal Code 2003 (UNMIK Reg. 2003/25)** for substantive law (post-April 2004 conduct).
5. Add the **Yugoslav Federal Criminal Code 1976** for substantive law (pre-April 2004 conduct).
6. Add **Joint Action 2008/124/CFSP** and **Law 2008/03-L053** for the EULEX successor framework.

If not in project knowledge, retrieve from unmik.unmissions.org or legal-tools.org.