If the new law comes into force, Cali and Pjeter Shala return to Kosovo to serve their sentence – details from the new articles for the Special
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Express Newspaper
03/10/2026 12:38
The Democratic Party of Kosovo is seeking the support of other political parties for the amendment of the Law on the Special Court. In one of the main articles that talks about the entry into force of the Law and the connection with the procedures that are ongoing in The Hague, it is clarified that the cases that are being developed in the preliminary procedure or in the Appeal, continue to be examined according to the provisions of the Law on Specialized Chambers.
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The law applies to each further procedure from the date when the Court of Appeal of The Hague will issue a decision on the four KLA.
However, articles 15, 16 and 17 related to the maximum prison time of up to 15 years, serving the sentence in Kosovo and the possibility of pardon by the President, enter into force immediately and are not related to the procedures that are continuing in the Appeal.
“Cases that, on the date of entry into force of this law, are in development before the Judge of the Preliminary Procedure, the Trial Panel or the Panel of the Court of Appeal of the Specialized Chambers, continue to be examined according to the provisions of Law No. 05/L-053 that were in force before the entry into force of this law. This law does not apply to the cases from paragraph 1 of this article until the judgment is issued by the Panel of the Court of Appeal.
From the date of the issuance of the judgment by the Panel of the Court of Appeal of the Specialized Chambers, this law applies to any further proceedings. Any appeal, request for the protection of legality or other legal remedy against this judgment is presented and examined by the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kosovo in Pristina, which has exclusive jurisdiction to decide on further proceedings. The Supreme Court Panel of Specialized Chambers has no jurisdiction over these cases.
Notwithstanding paragraphs 1 and 2 of this article, articles 15, 16 and 17 of this law are applied immediately from the day this law enters into force for all persons against whom criminal proceedings are conducted, as well as for all persons convicted by the Specialized Chambers, regardless of the stage of the procedure or the fact whether the judgment has become final” states Article 26 of the Draft Law proposed by PDK.
According to this Article, Pjetër Shala and Sali Mustafa return to Kosovo to serve their sentence and can also be pardoned by the President of the country. Shala was sentenced to 13 years and “Cali” to 15 years in prison.
Also, the Special Appeal cannot confirm the sentences of 25 years for Thaci and Krasniqi and 18 years for Kadri Veseli, since Article 15 determines the maximum sentence of up to 15 years. /GazetaExpress/
