INTERNATIONAL LEGAL ASSISTANCE IN CIVIL MATTERS

Abstract

International Legal Assistance in civil matters is an important pillar of the civil procedure by which the necessary actions are performed in another state, that are essential in resolving the issues put before the state court case. Because the area that deals with civil law is very broad, we believe that by focusing on the legal assistance we would be able to present an overview of legislation in Kosovo concerning this issue and what further necessary issues should be addressed in the future. The challenges to Kosovo’s justice system are immense. One such challenge has been the difficulty of drafting needed legislation to address civil justice issues within the system. Due to political circumstances, criminal issues have received the most attention. This has left civil issues to the side. Following the 2008 enforcement of the Constitution of Kosovo, the adoption of civil issue legislation has accelerated. This practice has proven ineffective; it has allowed large legal gaps in certain legislation while making their enforcement impossible. This paper analyzes the legal situation in the field of international justice assistance and how this corresponds to the situation on the ground through research of the positive instruments in force and formal conversations with officials. As a result, we have found that positive legislation in force is not sufficient to handle this institution. This further impacts the situation, whether in court or in any other authority that is responsible to address and manage the process. These issues have two main aspects: individual and institutional. In the former aspect the right of the individual to argue in favor of his or her claim and to be treated fairly is impossible. At the institutional level where as a result the whole functioning of the system is questionable in relation to fulfillment of the objective of justice which effectively results into legal uncertainty that defies the rule of law and justice