IKL: Article 31 of the Draft Law on Budget Allocations for 2026 violates constitutional obligations
The Kosovo Law Institute (KLI) has analyzed the Draft Law on Budget Allocations for 2026 and found that this draft law violates the Constitutional obligation to regulate the salary supplement of public officials.
In the judgment issued regarding the constitutionality of Law No. 08/L-196 on Salaries in the Public Sector, namely the judgment in case KO79/23, the Constitutional Court has assessed that the reduction of the payment for public officials during the first fifteen years of their career is not in accordance with the Constitution. The Constitutional Court obliged the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo to return the provision regarding the payment for work experience to at least 0.5% within a period of six (6) months, which payment would be made from the date of entry into force of the judgment of the Constitutional Court (1 February 2024).
Although the Constitutional Court mandated the amendment of the Law on Salaries in the Public Sector, the Government intends to do so with the Draft Law on Budget Allocations for the Budget of the Republic of Kosovo for 2026, which is a law that is valid for only one (1) year and does not respect the required standard.
On the other hand, the Draft Law on Budget Allocations for the Budget of the Republic of Kosovo for 2026 itself does not respect this judgment. Article 31.2 of this Draft Law states that "2. In accordance with the Constitutional Court Judgment KO79/23, instead of the adjustment according to paragraph 6 of Article 6 of Law No. 08/L-196 on Salaries in the Public Sector, the basic salary shall be increased based on work experience, at the rate of zero point five percent (0.5%) for each full year of work, starting from from January 1, 2026". Thus, despite the fact that the Constitutional Court ordered that the payment be made from February 1, 2024, this Law does not adhere to the deadline as stated by the Constitutional Court. This is because despite the Constitutional Court having decided that the payment of the difference should be made from February 1, 2024, the Draft Law in question extends this payment from January 1, 2026.
This course of action represents a constitutional violation since the first Law adopted by the Government. This creates a clear situation of non-implementation of a constitutional judgment, which according to the Constitution has legal force equal to the constitutional norm.
In this way, due to the failure to act in accordance with the Constitutional Court's judgment, over 90,000 public officials have suffered real financial damage. Failure to act in accordance with the Constitutional Court's judgment violates their rights and obliges them to seek the realization of their rights through the courts, risking flooding the judiciary with cases of this nature.
IKL calls on the Speaker of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo and the members of the Assembly not to approve the Draft Law on Budget Allocations for 2026 in this form, but by removing Article 31 and initiating the necessary legal amendments to the Law on Salaries in the Public Sector, ensuring the return of funds retroactively from February 1, 2024.
