On Tuesday, 3 December, the Justices of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic held a bilateral meeting with the Judges of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Kosovo. Although the representatives of both judicial institutions have repeatedly met at international conferences or other international forums, this was the first strictly bilateral meeting.

The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Kosovo is the youngest constitutional court on the European continent. It was established in 2008 and started its activities the following year. Its position within the Kosovo legal system is similar to that of the Constitutional Court in the Czech legal system. Many parallels can also be seen with regard to the scope of competencies of both bodies tasked with the protection of constitutionality.

The Kosovo delegation was led by the President of the Court, Gresa Caka-Nimani, who was accompanied by six Judges, the Secretary General and two representatives of the Council of Europe. The day-long working session was divided into three parts. The first one was opened by the President of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic, Josef Baxa, who in his opening remarks introduced his colleagues present at the meeting and briefly explained the functioning of the Czech model of constitutional justice. The President of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo, Gresa Caka-Nimani, then did the same and, applying a similar structure of discourse, introduced the hosts to the Kosovo model of constitutional justice. In the remainder of the first session, the floor was left open for questions, which was fully used. After a short break, the proceedings continued with the second part, which was devoted to the constitutional aspects of the disciplinary liability of judges. Justice Tomáš Langášek introduced the topic with his thorough analysis. After a lunch, during which a lively and inspiring discussion continued, the third and final part of the meeting took place. It focused on the constitutional review of judicial reforms. Justice Nexhmi Rexhepi elaborated on the topic in his carefully prepared contribution. At the very end of the bilateral meeting, room was left for an open discussion, which was followed by brief concluding remarks by Gresa Caka-Nimani and Josef Baxa. The President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Kosovo warmly thanked the hosts for their kind welcome and for an extremely useful and fruitful meeting. The President of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic reciprocated the words of gratitude and stressed the importance of international judicial dialogue and judicial cooperation.

The programme of the bilateral visit continued on Wednesday, 4 December. In the morning hours, the President of the Supreme Court Petr Angyalossy, who was accompanied at the meeting by Judge of the Supreme Court Lubomír Ptáček, and other members of the Supreme Court’s professional staff, received the Kosovo delegation. Before noon, the delegation then proceeded to the Supreme Administrative Court, where they were welcomed by the President of the Court, Karel Šimka, and the Vice-President of the Court, Barbara Pořízková.
As part of the cultural programme, the guests toured the historic centre of Brno, which, although currently dressed in Christmas garb, proudly shows its deep connection to the judiciary.

Pavel Dvořák 
Head of External Relations and Protocol Department
 

(photo: Jiřina Rittichová)