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Business Regulations regarding property law and claims in Kosovo (ENGLISH)

UNMIK/REG/2003/27 - 18 August 2003
ON THE PROMULGATION OF THE LAW ADOPTED BY THE ASSEMBLY OF KOSOVO ON AMENDMENTS AND ADDITIONS TO LAW NO. 2002/5 ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN IMMOVABLE PROPERTY RIGHTS REGISTER


UNMIK/REG/2003/13 - 09 May 2003
ON THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE RIGHT OF USE TO SOCIALLYOWNED
IMMOVABLE PROPERTY


UNMIK/REG/2002/22 - 20 December2002
ON THE PROMULGATION OF THE LAW ADOPTED BY THE ASSEMBLY OF KOSOVO ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN IMMOVABLE PROPERTY RIGHTS REGISTER


UNMIK/DIR/2002/4 - 28 February 2002
IMPLEMENTING UNMIK REGULATION NO. 2001/17 ON THE REGISTRATION OF CONTRACTS FOR THE SALE OF REAL PROPERTY IN SPECIFIC GEOGRAPHICAL AREAS OF KOSOVO


UNMIK Regulation 2001/23 - 29 September 2001
ON THE PILOT PROGRAM FOR IMPOSITION OF TAXES ON IMMOVABLE PROPERTY IN KOSOVO


UNMIK Regulation 2001/17 - 22 August 2001
ON THE REGISTRATION OF CONTRACTS FOR THE SALE OF REAL PROPERTY IN SPECIFIC GEOGRAPHICAL AREAS OF KOSOVO


ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTION 2001/16 DIR/2001/16 - 19 October 2001
IMPLEMENTING UNMIK REGULATION NO. 2001/17 ON THE REGISTRATION OF CONTRACTS FOR THE SALE OF REAL PROPERTY IN SPECIFIC GEOGRAPHICAL AREAS OF KOSOVO


UNMIK Regulation 60 - 31 October 2000
ON RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY CLAIMS AND THE RULES OF PROCEDURE AND EVIDENCE OF THE HOUSING AND PROPERTY DIRECTORATE AND THE HOUSING AND PROPERTY CLAIMS COMMISSION


UNMIK Regulation 23 - 15 November 1999
ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE HOUSING AND PROPERTY DIRECTORATE AND THE HOUSING AND PROPERTY CLAIMS COMMISSION, 15 NOVEMBER 1999


UNMIK Regulation 10 - 13 October 1999
ON THE REPEAL OF DISCRIMINATORY LEGISLATION AFFECTING HOUSING AND RIGHTS IN PROPERTY, 13 OCTOBER 1999


LINKS

Copyright (c) 2003 The American Society of International Law The American Journal International Law, January 2003, 97 A.J.I.L. 111, 12945 words, CURRENT DEVELOPMENT: Creating the Legal Framework of the Brcko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina: A Model for the Region and Other Postconflict Countries, MICHAEL G. KARNAVAS *


Copyright (c) 1996 University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Economic Law, Spring, 1996, 17 U. Pa. J. Int'l Econ. L. 383, 13169 words, ARTICLE: PROGRESS AND CHALLENGES OF PRIVATIZATION: THE CROATIAN EXPERIENCE, Janine S. Hiller * and Snjezana Puselj Drezga **

Copyright (c) 1999 President and Fellows of Harvard College Harvard International Law Journal, Spring, 1999, 40 Harv. Int'l L.J. 517, 48989 words, ARTICLE: The Naked Land: The Dayton Accords, Property Disputes, and Bosnia's Real Constitution, Timothy William Waters*


Copyright (c) 1997 Syracuse Journal of International Law and Commerce Syracuse Journal of International Law and Commerce, Fall, 1997, 24 Syracuse J. Int'l L. & Com. 119, 13580 words, COMMENT: THRESHOLD OF LASTING PEACE: THE BOSNIAN PROPERTY COMMISSION, MULTI-ETHNIC BOSNIA AND FOREIGN POLICY, John M. Scheib *

Copyright (c) 2001 Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University Stanford Journal of International Law, Summer, 2001, 37 Stan. J Int'l L. 221, 17467 words, ARTICLE: Implementation of the Property Legislation in Bosnia Herzegovina, Lynn Hastings*

Kosova Tenders

Kosovo Trust Agency

Statistical Office of Kosovo

Euro Info Correspondence Center


NEW Links to Property stuff:

OSCE JUNE REPORT:
90 pgs., but VERY Good for what we are doing. Could we all (applicable law folk) peruse this before friday?

Kosovo "Housing & Property Directorate" WOW. Very nice.
http://www.hpdkosovo.org

Paper on HPD & Kosovo from UN habitat:

http://www.osce.org/kosovo/human_rights/property.php3

"Who Owns What?" CS Monitor Article

2001 UN Article: http://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/2001/issue1/0101p47.html

The short version for those moot court people who have little time to peruse long documents...(however, not that this is from Jan 02, and there's lots more in the New OSCE report linked above...)

The Housing and Property Directorate and Claims Commission: current mechanisms leave most property claims unresolved (2002)

UNMIK set up the Housing and Property Directorate (HPD) and the Housing and Property Claims Commission (HPCC) to clarify and restore property rights
They have exclusive jurisdiction over claims generated by the discriminatory laws under the Milosevic regime or resulting from the conflict in Kosovo
The HPD has never fully functioned since its establishment three years ago, also as a result of lack of financial resources
A total of 19,862 claims were filed with the HPD, of which 644 have been resolved (September 2002)
Of these decisions, 322 have been implemented, 241 through forced evictions

"There is a profound housing problem in Kosovo. Several factors explain the situation. An estimated 100,000 housing units (almost half of the stock) were destroyed during the conflict, plus many more since then. Partly as a result of such destructions and of the departure of many inhabitants of Kosovo, unlawful occupations, by all kinds of persons ranging from IIDPs (see below) to international personnel unaware of the identity of the real owners, have occurred in large numbers.

Indeed, the establishment of property rights over real estate is highly problematic in Kosovo. In 1990, the Serbian authorities restricted the autonomy of Kosovo and adopted so-called 'provisional measures'. This led to a general strike by the ethnic Albanians, many of whom were subsequently dismissed from their jobs and lost the apartments that had been allocated to them by their employers. Their apartments were reallocated to Serbian employees and later privatised and bought by these or other Serbs. In addition, in 1991, the Serbian Parliament enacted legislation that restricted the sale of property between ethnic groups. However, sales continued to take place through informal contracts, which were not recorded by a court official, as required by Yugoslav law, and therefore could not be registered in the cadastre records. To complicate things further, documents have been destroyed or removed from Kosovo. As a consequence, there are many contradictory claims pertaining to property in Kosovo. Also, property transactions go on, including sales from Serbs to Albanians, often rapidly and quite informally, without adequate documentation. Which means that future problems are still being created.

At the end of 1999, UNMIK set up the Housing and Property Directorate (HPD, run by UN- HABITAT) and a Housing and Property Claims Commission (HPCC) as an interim measure to clarify and restore property rights and resolve long-standing claims [66] . Both institutions have broadly defined functions [67], that are bound to be progressively handed over to local authorities. For the time being they have 'exclusive jurisdiction to receive and settle' three specific categories of claims involving residential property disputes in Kosovo [68]. These are claims by individuals who lost property as a result of discriminatory laws of the Milosevic era ('Category A Claims'), claims by individuals who entered into informal transactions on the basis of free will of the parties during that era and until October 1999 ('Category B') as well as claims by refugees and IDPs who have lost possession of their property after 24 March 1999, as a result of the conflict ('Category C').

However, due to the absence of rules of procedure for a long period, the fact that the applicable law on property has still not been officially compiled and published and an authoritative interpretation of it been made [69], and also due to its blatant lack of resources, the HPD has never fully functioned since its establishment three years ago. A Contingency Plan adopted by HPD's management in November 2001, in reaction to dwindling resources, even foresaw that the institution would gradually close down programmes and cease all activities by the summer of the current year [70].

This situation undermines both the respect for the right to the enjoyment of private property, and the international presence's declared ambitions with respect to return […].

The Government of Serbia is of the view that the unresolved property issue is an "enormous problem for all those who left their homes" [71] . It "insist[s] on repossession of movables and real estate [which] the IDPs left behind. Where this is not possible, adequate compensation must be ensured" [72] . OMIK underlines that the success of HPD in fulfilling its mandate is essential to the return and reintegration process for Kosovo's minorities [73].

These assessments were confirmed by the results of HPD's claims intake until June 2002. With offices opened also in Serbia proper and Montenegro (and one to come, in 'the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia') HPD has collected some 5,000 additional claims in April and June 2002, bringing the total of claims to some 17,785 – 95 % of which are C Claims concerning loss of property by Serbs and Roma having left Kosovo [74].

As the deadline for submitting claims to the HPD has been set for 1 December 2002, and HPD is pursuing an active campaign for claims intake until then, the likely final caseload of claims will be out of all proportion to the means available to the HPD. Considering that up to 23 June 2002, the HPD and HPCC had resolved only 644 claims altogether, and these the least complicated, several decades seem to be necessary in order to cope with the present workload, with the present means. This has given rise to anger on the side of the Serbs and worry on the side of the internationals whom we met.

In 2002, the HPD has so far operated with approximately 30 % of the budget it estimates is required to carry out its functions; 2,4 million USD are needed for the remainder of the year [75], more than 8 million to finish its caseload." (COE 16 October 2002, paras. 109-117)

[Footnote 66: UNMIK Regulation 1999/23, 15 November 1999.]
[Footnote 67: HPD is also in charge of, inter alia, the organisation of evictions in execution of its own eviction orders, the administration (and rental) of vacant and abandoned property, the provision of guidance on property and housing issues to UNMIK and other international actors, etc.]
[Footnote 68: Periodic Report April-June 2002, HPD, p. 8.]
[Footnote 69: Property Rights in Kosovo (January 2002), OMIK, Department of Human Rights and the Rule of Law, p. 6.]
[Footnote 70: Ibid, p. 6.]
[Footnote 71: Government of the Republic of Serbia, National Strategy for Resolving the Problems of Refugees and IDPs, Belgrade, 30 May 2002, p. 9.]
[Footnote 72: Ibid, p.10.]
[Footnote 73: Property Rights in Kosovo (January 2002), OMIK, Department of Human Rights and the Rule of Law, p. 7.]
[Footnote 74: Periodic Report April-June 2002, HPD, p. 2.]

"Efforts were also undertaken to bolster the capacity of the Housing and Property Directorate (HPD) to process housing claims through increased personnel and restructuring the HPD under UNMIK management. By the end of September 2002, a total of 19,862 claims were filed with the HPD, of which 644 have been resolved. Of these decisions, 322 have been implemented, 241 through forced evictions. A total of 3,785 properties have now been placed under HPD administration." (UN SC 9 October 2002, para 41)

For more information you can consult the website of the Housing and Property Directorate: http://www.hpdkosovo.org/]
See also: "Property Rights in Kosovo", January 2002, a report by the OSCE and UNMIK [Internet]

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Last updated: October 6, 2003