PRISTINA, Kosovo
The Constitutional Court of Kosovo green-lighted Wednesday the establishment of a war crimes court.
The court in question is expected to try alleged crimes committed by the Kosovo Liberation Army during the Kosovo war from the period of Jan, 1, 1998 to Dec. 31, 2000.
The amendment validating the establishment of the war crimes court will be submitted to a vote in the Assembly of Kosovo.
A two-thirds majority is required for constitutional amendments. Opposition parties have announced that they would not vote for the formation of the court while certain members from the ruling coalition have also pronounced themselves against it.
The Special Court is expected to be located in the Netherlands and to be exclusively composed of international judges and prosecutors.
Should the Assembly fail to adopt the constitutional amendment, the formation of the special court will fall in the hands of the UN Security Council.
Kosovo is a former Serbian province populated by nearly 1.8 million people, over 90 percent of whom are Kosovo Albanians.
Following a conflict that took place 1998-99, opposing the Kosovo Liberation Army and Serbian forces, Kosovo ultimately broke away from Serbia with the help of NATO, .
It declared its independence on Feb. 17, 2008 and is recognized by 108 countries, including the U.S., the U.K, France, Germany and Turkey.
