The defense teams of the former Kosovo Liberation Army commanders have announced that they will appeal the convictions handed down by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers trial panel in The Hague on September 16.
Hashim Thaçi was sentenced to 25 years in prison for four counts of the indictment for war crimes, Jakup Krasniqi was also sentenced to 25 years in prison, while Kadri Veseli was sentenced to 18 and Rexhep Selimi to 13 years in prison.
The four former KLA commanders were found criminally responsible for war crimes including unlawful or arbitrary detention, cruel treatment, torture and unlawful killing. During the verdict handed down in The Hague, the trial panel dismissed the ZPS's charges of crimes against humanity.
The KLA quartet has been in custody in The Hague since November 2020.
The decision of the trial panel can be appealed by the parties involved, by the defense, which may request the verdict to be overturned in its entirety or seek a reduction in the sentence for certain counts of the indictment, but also by the Specialized Prosecutor's Office, which may request a harsher sentence.
The SPO welcomed the conviction and added that it will review the entire verdict, including the dismissal of the charges related to crimes against humanity.
But, what are the procedures that the parties follow for appeal?
According to the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, parties appealing a court decision or sentence, or both, must file what is called a notice of appeal, setting out the reasons for the appeal, within 30 days of the pronouncement of the judgment.
The presiding judge of the panel of the Court of Appeal - a court consisting of three members - may then appoint one of the judges as the rapporteur for the pre-appeal proceedings. The rapporteur judge is responsible for taking the necessary measures for procedural aspects, such as issuing decisions, orders and instructions in order to prepare the case for consideration. He or she must regularly inform the panel of the Court of Appeal, in particular if there are disputes regarding procedural matters.
Then, within 21 days of the notice of appeal, the chief judge or reporting judge convenes a conference where issues regarding the appeal are raised.
The parties filing an appeal must submit an appeal file containing all the arguments and other legal sources on which the grounds for appeal are based. This must be submitted within 60 days, or within 30 days of the notice of appeal if the case concerns only the sentence imposed.
The parties then submit the so-called response file, where they present their legal arguments. The deadlines for submitting this differ: 30 days for arguments and legal sources and 15 days only for the sentence from the submission of the file. This is followed by the counter-response file for which the deadlines are shorter, 15 and 10 if it concerns only the sentence.
After all these deadlines, the Court of Appeals sets a hearing date "if necessary," the regulation states.
The regulation provides that parties may submit additional evidence during the appeal procedure and if it is accepted, the other party may present counter-evidence.
During the decision, the Appeals Panel reviews any additional evidence received, as well as evidence that is already part of the documentation.
Once the submissions from the parties are complete, the Appeals Panel convenes and reviews the case and issues a judgment on the appeal documentation and any additional evidence received.
Therefore, the Court of Appeals may uphold, reverse or amend the trial panel's verdict or order a retrial.
However, if the request for appeal is made only by the persons found guilty, the Court of Appeal cannot pronounce a heavier decision than the first instance.
The appeal decision shall be pronounced within 60 days from the last submission of the parties. However, additional time may be requested for this, but not more than one month, and the extension of the deadline must be justified.
According to the Law on the Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor's Office, there are three grounds on which appeals may be filed against first instance decisions: an error on a legal point that overturns the judgment, an error of fact that has caused a miscarriage of justice, or an error in sentencing.
If the parties are not satisfied with the Appeals Court's decision, the case can be referred to the Supreme Court and then to the Constitutional Court of the Specialist Chambers in The Hague.
Defenders of former president Hashim Thaçi said the appeal process could take years./ Rel
