Making the Law, Ruling the Law: International Statebuilding and the Rule of Law in Kosovo

Abstract

This chapter aims to provide a general analysis of the drafting of legislation and the building of a system for the rule of law in Kosovo, examining how the international community has impacted on this process, and to what extent it has failed to create an effective, sustainable legal system. The first part of the chapter offers a general background to the international community’s involvement in setting up the rule of law sector in Kosovo and in the legal drafting process – thereby aiming to paint a bigger picture of statebuilding efforts from the early stages by providing information about the initial years of international involvement, prior to the declaration of independence. The second part of the chapter elaborates on the impact of the international community on the drafting of the core legal document on statehood – the Constitution of Kosovo. In particular, this section focuses on the difficulty of implementing certain provisions of the Constitution, which resulted in obstacles to the building and strengthening of Kosovo’s statehood. The third part of this chapter focuses mainly on the rule of law sector as a core component of statehood, and in particular on the role of the international community in the process of drafting some of the key legislation. While its contribution has been significant, as will be shown in this section the donor-driven agenda and the lack of consensus amongst the international community has often resulted in a power struggle between institutions and the creation of redundant bodies and institutions, which has then translated into a lack of efficiency. The chapter argues that although the international community has had a significant influence on the process of drafting all the key legislation in Kosovo, when put together in Kosovo they very often seem not to fit to the local context and needs, difficulty to be implemented, often in conflict with others, and drafted at a different time at the incentive of a different donor or international organisation.

Keywords: statebuilding, rule of law, Kosovo,