Kosovo is trying to re-establish the Institute for War Crimes Research

Coffins of Albanian soldiers killed in the Kosovo War 

 Kosovo's Ministry of Justice last week decided to set up a preparatory team to conduct an analysis of the establishment of the new Institute for War Crimes Research after a previous attempt launched nine years ago was overturned by closing the institute on the grounds of that it did not yield such significant results.

The Justice Ministry has tasked a team of 15 people, including state officials, civil society representatives and university professors, to draft a report on how the new institution should operate by September this year.

In 2011, the government established the Institute for War Crimes Research, as part of the Ministry of Justice, to collect, process, classify and archive information on crimes committed during the 1998-1999 war in Kosovo.

However, the institute was accused of failing to fulfill its mandate, although officials working at the institute say there were good results, despite a serious lack of funding and staff.

The institute was dissolved in 2018 by the order of then-Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj. The decision stated that instead of the institute, a Department of Transitional Justice would be established as part of the Ministry of Justice. But that never happened.

The Ministry of Justice now says the new institute will be different but does not provide any detailed information about the plans for it.

"Certainly, the Institute for War Crimes Research will change in format and content from the previous institute. But this will be part of a broader analysis by the preparatory team," the ministry told to media.