Special Court for Crimes Committed During Kosovo War Established in The Hague (January 15, 2016) [1]
On January 15, 2016, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands issued a statement [3] on the establishment of the Kosovo Relocated Specialist Judicial Institution, a special tribunal that will try crimes committed during the Kosovo War. Although the court is a national court of Kosovo, it will be located in The Hague, which was chosen after consultations between the European Union, the Kosovan, and Dutch governments and will be paid for with EU funds. The decision to move the tribunal outside Kosovo takes into account the sensitive nature of the issues raised by the proceedings and addresses hesitation of potential witnesses to testify. The potential defendants are members of the Kosovo Liberation Army who committed crimes against ethnic minorities and political opponents. According to a news report [4], “[m]embers of Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority who view the KLA as heroes may resent the process” as they perceive the perpetrators as freedom fighters. The Dutch Foreign Minister said, “It is important for justice to be done . . . . So we are pleased to be able to offer the court a home.”