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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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