The Assembly`s Committee on Legislation, Mandates, Immunities, Rules of Procedure and Oversight of the Anti-Corruption Agency has approved four draft laws aimed at strengthening Kosovo`s international legal cooperation with Sweden and Belgium.

All four draft laws received 11 votes in favor, with no votes against or abstentions.

Three of the draft laws concern agreements between Kosovo and Sweden on extradition, the transfer of convicted persons and mutual legal assistance in criminal matters. The fourth concerns the ratification of an agreement on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters between Kosovo and Belgium.

Committee Chair Vigan Qorrolli said the agreements with Sweden form a comprehensive package of cooperation between the two countries in the field of criminal justice.

"These are international agreements that our state and Sweden are concluding in the field of international legal cooperation," Qorrolli said.

Explaining their significance, he highlighted provisions allowing convicted persons to serve their sentences in their home countries.

"If a citizen of the Republic of Kosovo is tried in Sweden, or vice versa, and is required to serve a sentence for an offence committed in Sweden, that person may be transferred to Kosovo to serve the sentence," he explained.

During the meeting, the committee also discussed procedures for selecting candidates for two vacant positions on the Kosovo Judicial Council and the position of director of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption.

Qorrolli said working groups would be established to review applications once the application processes are completed.

The Vetëvendosje Parliamentary Group proposed MP Blerim Gashi to lead the working group responsible for reviewing applications for membership of the Kosovo Judicial Council. The establishment of the two working groups was approved with 11 votes in favor.

Meanwhile, PDK MP Blerta Deliu-Kodra requested that the Minister of Justice appear before the committee to explain the content of the international agreements before they are put to a vote.

"Previous practice has been for the minister to come to the committee and report on the agreements," Deliu-Kodra said.

She stressed that the Assembly should not abandon established practices of reviewing agreements and informing MPs before voting.

"The Assembly must not depart from these good practices," she emphasized.