At the Civic Energy Center in North Mitrovica, the report “Property Rights between Factual Circumstances and Judicial Protection – Acquisitive Prescription and the Formalization of Informal Contracts in Kosovo” was presented. The report addresses one of the key issues of Kosovo’s legal system – the existence of two parallel mechanisms for resolving the same property-related situations: judicial proceedings through the institute of adverse possession and administrative procedures for the formalization of informal contracts.
The conference gathered judges of the Basic Court in North Mitrovica, attorneys, retired judges, representatives of civil society and international organizations, who shared their experiences, practical challenges, and the problems citizens face in procedures related to determining property rights.
Participants emphasized that this is a topic rarely discussed in public, despite the numerous systemic problems in this field. It was particularly highlighted that many formally registered owners no longer live in Kosovo, while factual control over properties is exercised by other individuals, further complicating the process of proving ownership and conducting court proceedings.
The discussion addressed obstacles in scheduling cases, proving ownership, contradictions between formal and informal contracts, and the alignment of Kosovo’s practice with international standards.
The authors of the report, attorneys Predrag Miljković and Jelena Kragović, pointed out that Kosovo has introduced a new administrative mechanism to address long-standing problems related to informal real estate transactions and the determination of property rights. The new model of formalizing informal contracts represents an alternative to traditional court proceedings and relies on more flexible rules and simplified evidentiary standards.
As stated in the report, the essence of the procedure is that the factual situation on the ground, supported by certain evidence, may serve as the basis for registering ownership rights in the cadaster, even in the absence of a formally valid contract. The aim of the system is to resolve a large number of unresolved property disputes more efficiently and quickly, without lengthy court proceedings.
However, the authors warn that such an approach simultaneously raises serious concerns regarding legal certainty, as decisions rely more on probability and factual circumstances than on strict evidentiary standards.
Special attention was dedicated to the role of the Commission for the Review and Decision-Making on the Legalization of the Factual Situation, which decides whether the conditions for the formalization of informal contracts have been met. It was assessed that this model represents a significant departure from the traditional judicial model of property rights protection.
The report concludes that formalization may contribute to greater efficiency and the resolution of numerous unresolved cases, but at the same time increases the risk of abuse and the relativization of legal certainty when it comes to one of the most fundamental rights – the right to property.
The report is also based on practical cases faced by citizens in property rights determination procedures and analyzes the possible implications of the new model for both the legal system and citizens.
The full report is available at the following link (SRB, ALB)
The publication and the organization of the event were supported by UNMIK.
NGO Aktiv is supported by the Kosovar Civil Society Foundation (KCSF) program ‘EJA Kosovo’, co-financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and Sweden.