Szunyog: The EU expects Visoki Decani monastery’s property to be registered in the cadastre

„Respecting court decisions, especially the decisions of the Constitutional Court, is the key principle of the rule of law“ – the EU Special Representative to Pristina, Tomas Szunyog said, following in the US ambassador’s footsteps in reminding of the delayed implementation of the Constitutional Court’s decision to return 24 ha of land to the property of Decani Monastery even though almost five years have passed since the monastery’s ownership of the land was confirmed.

„Kosovo has good laws, which unfortunately are not sufficiently enforced,“ Szunyog said, citing the decision of the Constitutional Court on the property of the Visoki Decani monastery as an example.

„The fact that the decision of the Constitutional Court on the Visoki Decani monastery has not been implemented for five years is a serious issue,“ he said during a guest appearance on RTK2.

According to Szunyog, however, certain progress was made late last year, when some administrative steps were taken between the municipal cadastre and the central cadastre of Kosovo.

„We expect that the decision will be made and the property of the monastery will be registered in the cadastre,“ said the Czech diplomat.

In an op-ed published by the KoSSev portal earlier this week, the US ambassador to Pristina, Philip Kosnett recalled law enforcement in Kosovo, which also includes the delayed implementation of the Constitutional Court’s decision to return 24 ha land to the Decani Monastery property.

He said that despite the 2016 decision of the Kosovo Constitutional Court, „and with the tacit support of senior officials and party leaders“ – throughout several governments led by different political parties, for nearly five years – local and central-level cadastral officials have failed to implement the decision by legally registering the church’s land.

The very same day, the Association of Kosovo Historians „Ali Hadri“ from Decani criticized the US ambassador’s stance, saying that the decision of the Constitutional Court is „unconstitutional“ and „illegal“. They also alleged that, if this decision is implemented, it would mean „enforcing Milosevic’s laws in Kosovo“. This Albanian organization opposes the decision to confirm the monastery’s ownership over 24 hectares of land, they also made threats of roadblocks, protests, and other actions.

In 1946, 700 hectares of land were seized from the monastery of Visoki Decani. In 1997, the state of Serbia returned 24 hectares to the monastery, which had been socially owned until then because „Apiko“ and „Ilirija“ companies ceased to exist in 1993. The ownership of the monastery over this land, after several years of proceedings, was confirmed in 2016 by the highest legal body in Kosovo – the Constitutional Court. The decision is irrevocable, and any opposition to it is a violation of Kosovo law. However, the municipality of Decani refuses to register the church’s land and opposes the court’s decisions.

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