Legalisation of popular constituent power in Kosovo : can fundamentally important amendments be subject to legalised popular approval?

Bokshi, Bardh (author)

Popular constituent power is not bound by the rules and procedures of a pre-existing constitution. Nevertheless, it is possible and desirable to place that power within the framework of a constitutional regime. The Constitution of Kosovo provides for the enactment of constitutional amendments proposed by ordinary institutional actors. There are topics, however, which - owing to their fundamental constitutional importance - should meet the approval of popular constituent power. The exercise of popular constit-uent power should be legalised and strictly limited to issues of fundamental importance for the constitutional order of Kosovo. This is especially crucial for amendments affecting core constitutional principles enshrined in Chapter I of the Constitution of Kosovo, such as the unitary character of the state, the uniqueness of the judiciary, and multi-ethnicity. This article proposes the legalisation of popular constituent power by establishing mechanisms such as referenda and constituent assemblies to enable popular approval of amendments, in addition to international agreements capable of transforming the Kosovar constitutional order in a fundamental way. By doing so, Kosovo can strengthen internal statehood and enhance the democratic legitimacy of fundamental constitutional changes. The article concludes by calling on the authorities in Kosovo to enact legislation on the exercise of legalised constituent power, while by also putting in place safeguards in compliance with international standards on basic human rights and liberties.

• Language: English
• Keywords: constituent power, constitutional regime, democratic legitimacy, fundamental amendments, popular approval
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: PF - Faculty of Law
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Publication date: 30.12.2025
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 35-48, 253-254
• Numbering: Letn. 85
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-180349
• UDC: 342.4/.5(497.115-078KOS)
• ISSN on article: 1854-3839
• DOI: 10.51940/2025.1.35-48
• COBISS.SI-ID: 270305027
• Publication date in RUL: 06.03.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Zbornik znanstvenih razprav
• Shortened title: Zb. znan. razpr.
• Publisher: Pravna fakulteta
• ISSN: 1854-3839
• COBISS.SI-ID: 223437312

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Legalizacija ljudske ustavodajne oblasti na Kosovu : ali je mogoče ključne ustavne spremembe podvreči pravno urejeni potrditvi ljudstva?

Abstract

Ljudska ustavodajna oblast ni vezana na pravila in postopke že veljavne ustave. Kljub temu je to oblast mogoče in zaželeno umestiti v okvir ustavnega režima. Ustava Kosova določa postopek za sprejem ustavnih sprememb, ki jih predlagajo običajni institucionalni akterji. Vendar obstajajo teme, ki bi morale zaradi svoje temeljne ustavne pomembnosti prejeti odobritev ljudstva (kot nosilca ustavodajne oblasti). Izvajanje ljudske ustavodajne oblasti bi bilo treba zakonsko urediti in strogo omejiti na vprašanja temeljnega pomena za ustavni red Kosova. To je še zlasti pomembno pri spremembah, ki vplivajo na temeljna ustavna načela, določena v I. poglavju Ustave Kosova, kot so unitarnost države, enotnost sodstva in večetničnost. Avtor predlaga zakonsko določitev ljudske ustavodajne oblasti z vzpostavitvijo mehanizmov, kot so referendumi in ustavodajne skupščine, da se omogoči ljudska odobritev sprememb, pa tudi mednarodnih sporazumov, ki lahko temeljno posežejo v kosovski ustavni red. S tem lahko Kosovo okrepi notranjo suverenost in okrepi demokratično legitimnost temeljnih ustavnih sprememb. Avtor sklene s pozivom kosovskim oblastem, naj sprejmejo zakonodajo o izvajanju ustavodajne oblasti, hkrati pa vzpostavijo varovalke v skladu z mednarodnimi standardi o temeljnih človekovih pravicah in svoboščinah

• Keywords: ustavodajna oblast, ustavni režim, demokratična legitimnost, temeljne spremembe, odobritev ljudstva