The EULEX Mission organised a training session on international criminal law tools for prosecuting war crimes within Kosovo jurisdiction.

The specialised training session took place over the last two days and focused on the capacity of Kosovo Prosecutors to investigate and prosecute war crime cases.

The training aimed to enhance the prosecutor’s awareness and practical familiarity with key theories of international criminal law focusing on an overview of legal concepts. During the training case studies were examined with an interactive discussion that identified the investigation and prosecution tools.

A EULEX prosecutor, Valeria Bolici together with ICTY experts in international criminal law delivered the training.

“Active participants, interesting topics and perfect organization were key to the success of the training. International criminal law offers a great basis for the further development of national legal frameworks, including that of Kosovo. Today, with the support of EULEX, we all took a step in the right direction” said one ICTY trainer.

The organisers hope that the training involving practical advice on prosecuting war crimes is a step in the right direction.

"We reasoned on the legal basis and practical methods for applying international criminal law categories in prosecuting and adjudicating war crimes in Kosovo. The engagement of participants in the debate has been outstanding. While international criminal law is a vast field of law to explore, we focused on key-concepts and methodologies to access it, and concluded that the door is wide-open for further development", said Valeria Bolici.

One of the participants emphasised the benefit of the training event in saying, “the session allowed for a lively discussion amongst us. Local prosecutors are now more familiar with the practice of international criminal law in the prosecution of war crimes here in Kosovo”.

A final written product will be produced as a result of the training with practical guidelines and reference points for the future prosecution of war crime cases in Kosovo.