almanac on security sector oversight in the Western Balkans

Kosovo
The methodology used by the KCSS team for drafting this chapter is based on the
regional project “Civil society capacity building to map and monitor Security Sector
Reform in the Western Balkans (2009-2011)” as originally developed by the Belgrade
Centre for Security Policy. The authors used a wide variety of methods to collect data.
The team relied predominantly on face-to-face interviews in order to receive first
hand information from stakeholders on specific issues. The authors had only limited
access to secondary sources. There also was a critical assessment of the current legal
framework.
The chapter starts with mapping key security actors in Kosovo. It outlines the scope
of their responsibilities and provides a brief explanation of their mandate in order to
give the reader a clear overview of the security architecture in Kosovo. The chapter
continues with an analysis of two dimensions of accountability: vertical and horizontal.
The vertical dimension in this chapter critically evaluates the role of executive
branches and governmental bodies as well as internal mechanisms in controlling security
institutions. On the other hand, the horizontal dimension means control exercised
by other oversight institutions. This includes key institutions which play different roles
in overseeing security institutions such as the Kosovo Assembly, judiciary, independent
state institutions and civil society.
2 . Mapping the security sector in Kosovo
The security sector in Kosovo is composed of a variety of institutions and mechanisms.
Their competencies and powers are set out in the constitution and supported by laws
and regulations. Among the most important institutions or mechanisms are the parliament,
the president, the government (prime minister and relevant ministries), the Kosovo
Security Council and Kosovo Police, Kosovo Security Force as well as the Kosovo
Intelligence Agency. As will be explained below, not all security institutions are empowered
to use force or retain an executive mandate. Currently, the only local security
institution in Kosovo entitled to use any kind of physical force is the police, making it
the most important local security institution.
The emergency management sector, local safety mechanisms and private security companies
are crucial security actors. However, due to the scope of the research, length
of the chapter and, in particular, that these institutions have less responsibility than
those mentioned above, no specific mapping or analysis of these mechanisms is made.
Regarding oversight actors, apart from the Kosovo Assembly, their role will be treated
in the oversight section of this chapter. 56 Similarly, the role of the judiciary in the security
sector is elaborated briefly in the section subtitled “judicial control”.
56 In the oversight section, there will be a more detailed explanation of the role of oversight bodies
such as: parliament, judiciary, independent state institutions and civil society (community based nongovernmental
organisations, think tanks, academia and the media). Although civil society will not be
mapped, the analysis will highlight key developments with respect to the role of these other actors in
the security sector.
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Almanac on Security Sector Oversight in the Western Balkans