The Government of Serbia announced on Monday that it has approved a draft law on what it called the organization and competence of Serbian judicial authorities in the prosecution of criminal offenses committed on the territory of Kosovo.

The adoption of this legislation was announced by the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, in early September, saying that a special prosecutor’s office and a special court “will prosecute all those who participate in the persecution of the Serbian population” in Kosovo.

“The proposed legal solutions provide that jurisdiction in criminal cases in the first instance will be held by the High Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Supreme Court in Belgrade, while for the procedure in the second instance the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Court of Appeals in Belgrade,” said the Serbian Government.

She said that it is planned to create a “special department for the prosecution of crimes committed in the territory of ‘Kosovo and Metohija'” in the High Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade.

On September 13, Serbian President Vučić announced that the legislation on the organization of the jurisdiction of Serbian judicial bodies for the area of ​​Kosovo would be approved by the Assembly of Serbia within 45 days. As Vučič said at the time, the prosecutor’s office will have “a special duty to investigate and prosecute the criminal and illegal acts of employees and officials of institutions in Pristina”.

Serbia does not recognize Kosovo’s independence, declared in 2008, and consequently neither its institutions.

Kosovo Serbs, especially in the north, have been ruled for decades by Belgrade and parallel Serbian institutions, including Serbian banks, a pension system and benefits.

The government of Kosovo, led by Prime Minister Albin Kurti, took several steps this year to close the parallel Serbian institutions in the north, in an effort to extend Pristina’s authority in the north as much as possible.

Western governments have criticized Kurti’s steps, saying they were taken in an “uncoordinated” manner and at a time when tensions are still high in the north.

In the same session on Monday, the Serbian Government also approved a draft law for the declaration of Kosovo as a “special social protection area”.

According to it, this draft law offers financial support to the unemployed, namely those over 65 who have not exercised their right to pension, “with the aim of their survival in that territory and encourages the preservation of cultural and historical heritage, with an emphasis on demographic, economic and cultural development”.