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• Anthony Voka

Please Don't Be Civil

Although case law in Kosovo does not have the same weight as in American jurisprudence, it still serves two valuable functions for an attorney here in Kosovo. First, it can be used as a predictor for how your case may be ruled, and secondly, they are used as an example as to what legal principles should be codified into a statute. For example, the International Court of Justice acquitted Serbia of committing genocide during the Bosnian War in the 1990s. All that meant was that Belgrade did not give direct orders to commit genocide towards the Bosnian population which meant they could not receive reparations on those grounds. Still, individuals and paramilitary groups were still prosecuted on all sides, as it sends a good message that you cannot hide your crimes against humanity even during the fog of war. In turn, if you are seeking damages from Serbia in a Kosovo court as an attorney, then you run into two large problems. First and foremost, Kosovo has no jurisdiction over Serbia, so this trial must go through an international court. Second, you needed to prove Serbia gave orders for Yugoslav forces to commit genocide and given the International Court of Justice’s decision and refusal for an appeal, it’s even more unlikely that an individual can receive restitution for damage done to their body or property. The most common remedy for a state is achieved through political maneuvering. International law starts to blend into politics, and it becomes hard to separate the two.

It’s interesting how in the United States we understand that a statute cannot be written in a way to cover every situation. We accept that the perfect statute does not exist. Here, they use previous cases in EU countries and International Courts to help them develop the most perfect laws, which I think is the wrong way of approaching things. Mixing case law and statutes allows a sense of stability for the law which is beneficial for people that want to follow the law. Civil court systems get tricky because the cases are decided by judges as they apply the current law without caring how previous judges ruled. There is less stability and ability to predict how a case will be decided. You can strategize a bit by studying the previous decisions that a judge has rendered because all their decisions are public and archived. I still will say I prefer how cases are used in American jurisprudence as the use of case law allows some creative lawyering for attorneys, which I appreciate a lot.

People here are less career focused since they seem to work to live and not live to work, so they have time for family and leisure. Cafes are always busy, children are playing in the streets, and people take time out of the office to eat lunch with a friend or family member, “Gjithçka bëhet avash-avash” is the philosophy here. Also, it’s been a long time since I have seen this many children. People in the United States seem to have children a lot less and a lot later in their life, while here, it’s the norm for people to settle down and to start creating a family in their early to mid-20s. And even though people here seem to have less stuff as compared to the average American household, they seem pretty happy. Seems that experiences are cherished more than material items. That’s not to say materialistic people don’t exist, as I have seen plenty of people showing off their luxury cars here. Although I wouldn't’t recommend owning a car here.

It seems like being an attorney in Kosovo is more social than most professions. I really can’t compare being an attorney in Kosovo as compared to the United States (maybe I’ll get back to you in a couple of years), but being an attorney in Kosovo seems to require a lot of meetings, coffees, conferences, and lunches. And there are certain spots all the professionals go to and everytime you sit there, expect to meet someone you know, so if you don’t want to be disturbed, then you better go somewhere else. It reminds me of those movies where the protagonist goes to a dive bar where everyone knows eachother as they’re all regulars. What makes the work of an attorney whose mission is also advocacy for judicial reform interesting is that you work constantly on an international level. Many projects receive aid from foreign countries so you are required to go to embassies and you meet with diplomats, senators, congressmen, and the like. As I stated before, international law starts to blend into politics.