Legal opinion: Formation of a New Government without Elections from the Perspective of Kosovar Constitutional Law

The legal opinion by Constance Grewe, former judge at the Constitutional court of Bosnia and Herzegovina suggest that Kosovo’s constitutional text is not clear in a number of questions, it has linguistic, stylistic and substantial deficiencies as well. The Constitution does not provide a clear solution for an aftermath of a vote of no confidence. As an addition, to the unclear text of the Constitution, the Constitutional Court’s case-law is not coherent either. A dissolution does not derive as a necessary consequence from a no-confidence vote, and in any case dissolution is at the discretion of the Assembly itself.
Without having clearer procedural rules it is not the role of the president to fix a deadline, even it might not be against it either.
This study gives a very useful insight about the constitutional rules regarding the appointment of a new government and why the Kosovar Constitution is not clear on a number of issues. The Parliament should concretely manifest its supreme authority in the state in deciding if it prefers a dissolution or a new government without elections. The opinion concludes with the remark “So, there is a risk of chronic instability and quick sequences of elections. While this could appear very democratic, it is also expensive – and Kosovo is a poor country – and favours corruption.”

You can read the full study here