About the lecture
The long-awaited establishment of the Constitutional Court in 2008 was a defining point in the history of Kosovo's constitutionalism. The KCC has a comprehensive jurisdiction that incorporates several different types of abstract and concrete norm control. Yet, individual constitutional complaints (ICC) make up the vast majority of all constitutional disputes that have been brought before the Court ever since it was established.
In the open lecture, Prof. Morina will offer a brief introduction to the Constitutional Court of Kosovo and its Specialist Constitutional Chamber. It will be argued that this situation is unprecedented in a national constitutional justice system, in which two constitutional review bodies perform their duties separately while yet operating within the confines of a single Constitution. In addition, the lecture will focus on the judicial application of the ECHR in Kosovo and will provide a critical reflection on the role of the KCC in upholding ECHR standards in a new constitutional democracy. Critical remarks concerning the importance of introducing the Court’s award of ‘constitutional damages’ will also be addressed and several arguments will be offered on why this is necessary to optimize constitutional complaint in Kosovo and to make public authorities, including courts, accountable to constitutional rights and freedoms.
About the speaker
Prof. Dr. Visar Morina holds a Bachelor and Master degree from Prishtina University, Kosovo, and a doctorate degree in legal sciences from Johannes Kepler University, Austria. During the last 20 years he has taught in the areas of constitutional law and human rights at universities in Kosovo and Albania and has conducted research and scholarly programs in the University of Graz (Austria), University of Trento (Italy) and Oxford University (UK). Morina is full Professor of Constitutional Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Prishtina.
From 2018 until 2022 Mr. Morina has served as Member of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe appointed on behalf of the Republic of Kosovo. He has published several articles in the area of constitutional law on peer reviewed journals and has extensive experience with internationally accredited missions in Kosovo, including the United Nations Mission in Kosovo and the Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe. Morina has participated in the capacity of an external expert in the drafting of the 2008 Kosovo Constitution and the Law on the Constitutional Court in Kosovo. His recent professional interest focuses on environmental law and access to environmental justice.