Prosecutor Jeton Koca has spoken after resigning from his position as a state prosecutor.In a statement to Betimi për Drejtësi, he mentioned several issues that he claims he and his colleagues have faced while performing their duties, such as receiving case files in corridors or situations when prosecutors go to the courtroom without a case file and are then given the case in the presence of the parties.
The resigned prosecutor said that his expectations as a prosecutor were not to receive cases in corridors in order to represent them.“I am a new prosecutor, but I have 17 years of work experience in public administration institutions. I have held professional and many managerial positions, and my expectations were not that I would take cases in corridors and go represent them in court first of all.
”He said that receiving cases in corridors should not become a practice and that representing colleagues’ cases should not become the norm.He added that he has no complaints about the Basic Prosecution in Pristina, because the problem is not limited to just this prosecution office. According to him, the Prosecutorial Council should support the prosecution offices in their requests.
“Secondly, I have absolutely no complaints about the Basic Prosecution in Pristina because, in the end, it is not the responsibility of a single prosecution office to solve a specific problem like this. I think the higher management in this case the Prosecutorial Council should focus on supporting the prosecution offices in their requests, and this problem of case overload must be solved.
This means it is not proper for a prosecutor to take cases in corridors and represent colleagues’ cases. It may be an exception, but not a rule,” Koca said.Koca stated that the system must work toward restoring citizens’ trust.“I want to say that I believe the system needs to work longer and be more dedicated in this direction, to eliminate these issues and rebuild trust among citizens,” he said.
According to Koca, the practice of giving cases in corridors happens frequently. When asked whether he had informed the chief prosecutor about this issue, he said:“I do not have more information in this regard, but I am saying that it is a frequent practice, and we will talk more about it in the future.”He said there are cases when a prosecutor goes to court without a case file and receives the case there in the presence of the parties. As for why this issue was not addressed earlier, he said that they were new prosecutors.“There are cases when a prosecutor goes to court to present without a case file and receives the case there,” Koca said.Before becoming a prosecutor, Jeton Koca had served as a member of the Supervisory Council of the Civil Service. He was dismissed from this position with the votes of the majority led by Vetëvendosje (VV) in the Assembly of Kosovo in 2021.The Constitutional Court later annulled that decision as unconstitutional.
Koca was reinstated to his position as chairman of the council and served there until the end of his mandate.
