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CONTENTS Preface .............................................................................................................. xiii Foreword .......................................................................................................... xv Authors Note ................................................................................................... xvii Acknowledgements .......................................................................................... xix Executive Summary ........................................................................................ xxi Table of Legislation ........................................................................................ xxv Acronyms and Abbreviations ......................................................................... xxvii Chapter One. Post-Con?ict Property Restitution for Refugees and Displaced Persons under International Law ............................................. 1 I. Introduction ........................................................................................... 1 II. Historical Evolution of the Right to Property Restitution and Standard Setting .................................................................................... 5 III. Post-Con?ict Property Restitution in Practice .................................... 8 Chapter Two. Housing and Property Restitution in Kosovo ................. 15 I. Introduction ........................................................................................... 15 II. Historical Background .......................................................................... 15 III. The NATO Intervention and Its Aftermath ........................................ 20 IV. The Right to Property Restitution for Refugees and Displaced Persons under Security Council Resolution 1244 .............................. 22 V. The Situation on the Ground ............................................................... 23 VI. The Property Related Intervention ...................................................... 26 Chapter Three. Establishment of Institutions Responsible for Con?ict Related Property Restitution ................................................................... 29 I. Introduction ........................................................................................... 29 II. The Housing and Property Directorate ............................................... 32 1. Establishment and Mandate ............................................................. 32 2. Resolution of Residential Property Disputes ................................. 32 3. The Registry ..................................................................................... 34 4. Management and Administrative Functions ................................... 34 5. The provision of Overall Direction on Property Rights ............... 35 6. Managing Property under Temporary Administration ................... 35 7. The Provision of Advice on Property Issues ................................. 36 III. The Housing and Property Claims Commission ................................ 37 1. Establishment and Mandate ............................................................. 37 2. Composition and Membership ......................................................... 39 3. Sessions of the HPCC ..................................................................... 41 IV. The Applicable Legal Framework ....................................................... 42 1. The Applicable Law in Kosovo ...................................................... 42 2. The Laws Applicable to the Resolution of Residential Property Disputes ............................................................................................. 43 2.1. UNMIK Regulations ................................................................. 43 2.2. HPCC's Instructions and Jurisprudence .................................. 46 2.3. Domestic Laws .......................................................................... 47 2.4 Applicable Human Rights Framework ..................................... 47 Chapter Four. Category and Nature of Claims and Claim Intake ...... 49 I. Introduction ........................................................................................... 49 II. Category and Nature of Claims and Remedies .................................. 49 1. Category A claims ............................................................................ 50 2. Category B claims ............................................................................ 51 3. Category C claims ............................................................................ 51 III. The Claim Intake ................................................................................. 52 1. The Claim Form and Submission of Claims ................................. 52 2. Submission of claims through Family Household Members and Authorized Persons ........................................................................... 54 3. Content of Claim Form ................................................................... 55 3.1. Category A Claims ................................................................... 55 3.2. Category B Claims ................................................................... 56 3.3. Category C Claims ................................................................... 56 4. Claim Intake Of?ces ......................................................................... 56 5. Deadline for ? ling claims ................................................................ 57 6. Nature and Number of claims ?led ................................................ 58 7. Noti?cation of claims and the right to participate in proceedings 59 8. Publication of claims ........................................................................ 61 Chapter Five. Claims Processing ................................................................ 63 I. Introduction ........................................................................................... 63 II. Investigation of claims ......................................................................... 63 1. Preliminary Review and rejection of claims falling outside HPCC's jurisdiction ......................................................................... 63 2. Substantive Review .......................................................................... 64 III. Access to Property Records ................................................................. 65 IV. The Veri?cation Process and Procedures ............................................ 66 V. Drafting Legal Submissions for Referral of Claims to the HPCC ... 68 VI. Uncontested Category B Claims ......................................................... 70 VII. Withdrawal of Claims ....................................................................... 71 VIII. Referral of Claims to the HPCC and the Role of the Registrar ... 71 Chapter Six. The Decision Making Process .............................................. 73 I. Introduction ........................................................................................ 73 II. Procedures Governing the Adjudication of Claims ........................ 73 1. Mass claims processing techniques ............................................. 74 2. Rules of evidence ......................................................................... 75 2.1. Burden of Proof .................................................................... 76 2.2. Standard of Proof .................................................................. 76 3. Summary Procedure ..................................................................... 77 4. Presumptions and inferences ........................................................ 78 5. Delegation of authority to review claims to the Registry ......... 79 III. Proceedings before the HPCC .......................................................... 80 IV. Decisions of the HPCC .................................................................... 82 V. Form of Decisions ............................................................................. 83 VI. Orders of the HPCC and Remedies ................................................ 86 1. Category A claims ........................................................................ 86 2. Category B claims ........................................................................ 87 3. Category C claims ........................................................................ 88 4. Competing category A and C claims .......................................... 89 5. Destroyed property claims ........................................................... 89 6. Referral of claims to the Court ................................................... 91 7. Compensation ................................................................................ 92 VII. Correcting administrative errors or omissions in the resolution of claims ............................................................................................ 92 VIII. Statistics on HPCC Sessions and Decisions ................................... 93 Chapter Seven. The Service and Implementation of Decisions ............. 97 I. Introduction ........................................................................................ 97 II. Service of Decisions ......................................................................... 97 III. Publication of Decisions ................................................................... 98 IV. Procedure for Implementing Decisions ............................................ 98 1. Administration ............................................................................ 100 2. Rental Scheme for Properties under Administration ............... 101 3. Repossession ............................................................................... 102 4. Processing requests for administration and repossession .......... 102 5. The execution of an eviction order .......................................... 104 7. Deadlines for claimants to request implementation of decisions ..................................................................................... 106 8. Missing Claimants ...................................................................... 106 9. Options for Unsuccessful Claimants ......................................... 108 10. Statistics on Implementation ...................................................... 108 Chapter Eight. Reconsideration Requests ................................................. 111 I. Introduction ........................................................................................ 111 II. Grounds for ?ling Reconsideration Requests .................................. 111 III. The procedure for ?ling Reconsideration Requests ........................ 112 IV. Time period for ?ling Reconsideration Requests .......................... 113 V. Processing ........................................................................................... 114 VI. Statistics on the Number and nature of Reconsideration Requests ?led ..................................................................................................... 115 VII. HPCC decisions dismissing Reconsideration Requests ................... 117 VIII. HPCC decisions granting Reconsideration Requests ...................... 118 Chapter Nine. Closure of Claim Files and Establishment of Kosovo Property Agency ............................................................................................ 123 I. Closure of Claim Files ..................................................................... 123 II. Handover to Local Authorities ......................................................... 124 III. Establishment of the Kosovo Property Agency .............................. 125 Chapter Ten. Jurisprudence of the Housing and Property Claims Commission .................................................................................................... 129 I. Introduction ........................................................................................ 129 II. General Provisions ............................................................................ 129 1. Claims had to be ?led by natural persons ................................. 130 2. Claimed property must have constituted residential property ... 130 3. Claimed property must have been located in the territory of Kosovo .......................................................................................... 131 4. Persons ?ling claim in a representative capacity were required to be family members or to hold a valid Power of Attorney ......................................................................................... 131 III. Category A claims and the Right to Restitution ............................. 132 1. Introduction ................................................................................... 132 2. Essential proofs in Category A Claims ...................................... 133 3. Entitlement to Order for Restitution of Property Right .......... 134 3.1. Occupancy Rights ................................................................ 134 3.1.1 Proving and Occupancy Right ................................ 135 3.1.2 Rent as an alternative to Contract on Use ............ 136 3.2. Ownership and co-ownership rights ................................... 137 3.3. Dismissals in cases where no occupancy right could be proved .............................................................................. 138 4. Property right must have been revoked or lost ......................... 142 5. Loss or revocation must have taken place between 23 March 1989 and 24 March 1999 ............................................................ 142 6. Loss or revocation must have occurred as a result of discrimination ............................................................................... 143 6.1. Arbitrary Evictions .............................................................. 146 6.2. Unfair dismissal from employment .................................... 146 6.3. Failure of the authorities to enforce court decisions ........ 147 6.3.1 Cases in which discrimination was not found to be connected with the loss of property rights ....... 148 6.3.2 Where discrimination alleged as having prevented acquisition of an occupancy right .......................... 149 IV. Category B claims and registration of property rights in the public record .................................................................................................... 150 1. Introduction .................................................................................... 150 2. Proof that the claimant entered into a transaction of residential property between 23 March 1989 and 24 March 1999 ............. 152 3. Evidence of the Transaction ......................................................... 152 4. Ownership must have transferred under the Transaction ........... 154 5. The transaction was unlawful under the provisions of the Law on Special Conditions Applicable to Real Estate Transactions ................................................................................... 155 6. The transaction would otherwise have been lawful ................... 156 7. The transaction was based on the free will of the parties ........ 157 V. Category C claims and Repossession ................................................. 157 1. Introduction .................................................................................... 157 2. Nature of property right ............................................................... 159 3. The requirement to evidence possession of property ................. 160 3.1. Cases involving lawful possession rights ............................ 160 3.2. Cases involving ownership rights ......................................... 161 4. Evidence of property right ........................................................... 162 5. Uncontested category C claims .................................................... 165 6. The claimant must have enjoyed a property right on 24 March 1999 ................................................................................................ 166 7. Loss of possession must be linked to NATO air campaign ...... 167 8. Claimant must not have voluntarily disposed of property right ................................................................................................ 168 8.1. Disposal not completed until delivery of vacant possession .............................................................................. 170 8.2. Sale of property in contravention of UNMIK Regulation 2000/60 .................................................................................. 170 8.3. Compensation ordered in lieu of an order for repossession where there was a competing occupancy right claim over the property ............................................................................ 171 9. The effect of section 4 of UNMIK Regulation 2000/60 on the right to an order for repossession in category c claims ............ 172 10. Defenses to category C claims commonly raised ...................... 172 10.1. Rental or caretaker agreements ........................................... 172 10.2. Temporary Permits and Humanitarian Agreements ........... 173 Chapter Eleven. Restitution and Compensation-Limits of HPCC Jurisdiction ..................................................................................................... 175 I. Introduction ........................................................................................ 175 II. The application of section 4 of UNMIK Restitution 2000/60 in cases of valid competing occupancy and ownership rights ........... 177 III. Entitlement to compensation for loss of ownership right .............. 178 1. Relief for loss of occupancy right in lieu of restitution in kind where there had been a valid sale of the property from the First Owner ............................................................................ 179 2. Relief for loss of occupancy right where there had been an invalid sale of the property ......................................................... 180 IV. Options for Claimants who fell outside the Restitution Framework ......................................................................................... 182 1. Category A claimants who had not acquired occupancy right ............................................................................................... 182 2. Restitution in cases of valid competing category A and C claims ............................................................................................ 182 3. Claimants with claims over destroyed property ......................... 183 V. The role of the HPD in enforcing the right to restitution ............. 184 Chapter Twelve. Administration, Funding, Institutional Structure and Information Technology ................................................................................ 187 I. Introduction ........................................................................................ 187 II. Administration ................................................................................... 188 III. Funding .............................................................................................. 189 IV. The handover of HPD operations from UN-Habitat ...................... 191 V. The Advisory Board of the HPD/HPCC ......................................... 192 1. Establishment and Composition ................................................... 192 2. Terms of Reference ...................................................................... 193 VI. Funding after the handover of operations ....................................... 194 VII. Donor contributions ........................................................................... 195 VIII. The overall cost of operations ......................................................... 197 IX. Institutional Structure of the HPD ................................................... 197 1. Regional of?ce in Kosovo ........................................................... 198 2. Of?ces outside of Kosovo ............................................................ 198 X. Management and Staf?ng ................................................................. 199 XI. Outreach Activities ............................................................................ 202 XII. Information Technology .................................................................... 205 Chapter Thirteen. Essential Features of the HPD/HPCC Process and Overall Contribution to Peace Building ............................................ 207 I. Essential Features of the Process ..................................................... 207 1. Due Process .................................................................................. 207 2. Impartiality and Neutrality ........................................................... 208 3. Support from Local Government Institutions ............................. 209 II. Overall Contribution to Peace Building .......................................... 211 Chapter Fourteen. Lessons Learned and Concluding Note I. Lessons Learned and Concluding Note ............................................... 217 1. Policies on addressing property issues to be explicitly included in peace settlements and agreements ............................................ 217 2. Comprehensive policies on addressing property issues and concerns .......................................................................................... 218 3. An operational response to Housing and Property Rights Issues should be institutionalized within the UN System ...................... 220 4. Adequate Remedies ........................................................................ 221 5. Institutional models and techniques .............................................. 224 6. An accessible and free claim procedure ...................................... 225 7. An extensive Outreach Campaign and an effective Public Information Campaign ................................................................... 226 8. Implementation of ?nal and binding Decision ............................ 226 9. Resources and Funding .................................................................. 228 10. Returns coordination and follow-up among the major stakeholders and entities ................................................................ 228 II. Concluding Note .................................................................................... 229 Index ................................................................................................................ 000 Annex I. The Members of the Housing and Property Claims Commission ................................................................................................. 233 Annex II. UNMIK Regulations 1999/23 and 2000/60 ................................. 234 Annex III. Additional Rules of the Housing and Property Claims Commission ................................................................................................. 255 Annex IV. Decisions of the Housing and Property Claims Commission ... 261 Annex V. Executive Directors of the Housing and Property Directorate ... 1835
Library of Congress Subject Headings for this publication:
Restitution -- Kosovo (Republic).
Kosovo (Republic) -- Claims vs. Serbia.