Kosovo-Serbia agreement paves way for unified judiciary

Kosovo-Serbia agreement paves way for unified judiciary

Kosovo and Serbia discussed the justice system in northern Kosovo as talks restarted after a year-long hiatus.

The prime ministers of Kosovo and Serbia, Isa Mustafa (left) and Aleksandar Vucic, signed the agreement last month. [EU]

The prime ministers of Kosovo and Serbia, Isa Mustafa and Aleksandar Vucic, resumed the dialogue on the normalisation of relations between their two countries and focused on an agreement on the justice system. "

The two prime ministers finalised the agreement on justice and judiciary in Kosovo, thereby closing a critical chapter of the implementation of the Brussels Agreement that will substantially improve lives of people on the ground. I commend Isa Mustafa and Aleksandar Vucic for this achievement," EU High Representative Federica Mogherini said after the talks last month.

Working groups are now expected to move forward with implementation of the justice agreement. Northern Kosovo, where the overwhelming majority of citizens are Serbs, has been a volatile area, and Pristina has been working to extend its authority and laws there for years.

The judicial agreement is considered crucial because it ensures a unified judicial system in all of Kosovo.

According to a statement, the two sides agreed on a mixed makeup of judges and prosecutors, allowing both Albanians and Serbs to be involved. It is not known how cases will be distributed, but the agreement ensures all cases will be treated equally and will be within the single judicial system.

The agreement foresees the establishment of courts and a prosecutor's office with Albanian and Serb prosecutors and judges. Kosovo media reported that the basic court will have...