Kosovo Assembly adopts law on special court

A total of 89 assembly members voted in favor, 22 voted against, and two MPs abstained from voting.The mandate of EULEX, with the exception of the Special Investigative Task Force (SITF) set up in 2011 and tasked with investigating the war crimes allegations, contained in a report by former special rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Dick Marty, is now extended for two more years, until June 2016.The job carried out by SITF is to be taken over by the special court.Vekaric: Decision on court made under international pressure.The Kosovo parliament's decision to adopt the laws needed to establish a special court for war crimes committed by members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) was made after great international pressure and the victims' families will finally learn about the fate of their loved ones, Serbia's Deputy Prosecutor for War Crimes Bruno Vekaric has said."It is an expected decision after great international pressure. I expect that with the creation of this tribunal the families of the victims will finally get the answers they did not get between 1998 and 2000," he told the press.The Office of the Serbian Prosecutor for War Crimes already cooperates well with the special investigative team of the EU, which is led by Clint Williamson, and expects good cooperation with those in the international community who are going to establish the court, he pointed out.The Kosovo parliament adopted on Wednesday the laws on extending EULEX's mandate and establishing the special court for war crimes committed by members of the former KLA, which were listed in a report by Dick Marty.The laws were supported by 89 members of the parliament, 22 were against and 2 members abstained.EULEX's mandate was extended until June 2016, which does not cover the special investigative team.The team was formed in 2011 to discuss war crimes mentioned in Dick Marty's report, but the issue will now be turned over to the special court.