The Judicial Council of Kosovo is proposing to increase court fees through a new administrative instruction. The Draft Administrative Instruction for the Unification of Judicial Taxes includes a significant increase in taxes in almost all categories.

However, civil society and lawyers fear that the increase in fees may hinder citizens' access to justice. The researcher at the "AVONET" organization, Shefki Berisha, highlighted that compared to the current administrative instruction of 2017, the proposed court fees are significantly higher.

For instance, the taxes for a civil lawsuit that currently starts from 20 euros are planned to increase up to 100 euros. In some other cases, the increase in taxes for other services could go up to five times the monetary value. This high increase may make it impossible for citizens to cover the costs, depriving them of their legal rights.

Lawyer Arbër Jashari also expressed concern over the proposed increase, stating that it is too high and will make it challenging for citizens to access justice, particularly given the current economic crisis. Jashari suggested that it would be better for the Assembly of Kosovo to adopt a law on these taxes.

The KJC has said that the legal changes since the 2017 Administrative Instruction for the Unification of Court Taxes came into force have prompted the need for a change in the instruction. The KJC noted that it has prepared an initial draft and will decide on the level of the fees. The KJC will assess the appropriate time for issuing this instruction based on the progress of the Ministry of Justice in issuing the Law on Court Fees.

If the law on court fees is issued, the KJC will consider the possibility of issuing a new administrative instruction for the implementation of the law.