Balkan Legal News - 8 September 2023

The following media round up on international, legal and foreign policy issues from around the Balkans for the period from 1 September to 7 September 2023.

Guernica 37 will provide weekly media updates with a focus on Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. Should you wish to contribute or submit a media summary, opinion piece or blog, please send to Ned Vucijak at nenadv@guernica37.com for consideration.

North Macedonia – 7 September 2023

Corruption-fighting NGOs urge President to block abruptly-adopted criminal law amendments that would make life easier for former public officials caught up in serious criminal cases. The full article can be found here.

Kosovo – 6 September 2023

A Human Rights Watch investigator told the trial of former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and three others in The Hague that the NGO had not been able to fully investigate alleged crimes committed by the Kosovo Liberation Army in 1998. The full article can be found here.

Serbia – 6 September 2023

Serbian companies and alleged crime figures sanctioned by the United States in late 2021 have since been involved in more than 36 million euros of business with the Serbian state. The full article can be found here.

Serbia – 6 September 2023

The Berlin Process offers a credible pathway for Balkan countries to obtain EU membership – but insular attitudes and persistent bilateral disputes remain serious impediments. The full article can be found here.

Kosovo – 5 september 2023

In his first media interview since the start of his war crimes trial in The Hague, Kosovo’s former President Hashim Thaci said that he misses his family while in detention, but is paying the “price of freedom”. The full article can be found here.

Croatia – 4 September 2023

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic told the head of the UN war crimes court that he is unhappy with the decision to temporarily free former Serbian state security official Franko Simatovic because of ill health. The full article can be found here.

Bosnia and Herzegovina – 4 September 2023

August saw a surge in digital violence in the region, including a shocking live-streamed murder, inadequate content moderation and gender-based digital violations. The full article can be found here.

Albania – 1 September 2023

Hundreds of Albanian judges and prosecutors have been forced from office by a vetting process launched in 2016 to crack down on corruption in the judiciary, but not all of them have left the law behind. The full article can be found here.