The recent legislative amendments regulating commercial courts, e-signatures, intellectual property, and oil products trading are the major updates in Kosovo, according to RPHS Law Managing Partner Kushtrim Palushi.
"One major change in Kosovo is related to the establishment of the Commercial Court," Palushi begins. "It did not exist before. The new law entered into force in February 2022, so it is not yet fully operational. The law establishes a separate court that will deal with commercial disputes in a faster, more efficient manner." According to him, the new court is aimed at ensuring the attractiveness of the business environment in Kosovo. "The legal and business community are looking forward to it, to see whether there will be a substantial change in the existing dispute resolution procedure," he says. "In the past, the court proceedings frequently lasted for a couple of years, and clients had to wait until the disputed matter was resolved." Palushi points out that the court has chosen its president and will soon be accepting cases, thus achieving full functionality.
"In addition, in Kosovo, we have new laws on e-signatures, which also entered into force in February 2022," he says. "This new law enables individuals and the business sector to use e-signatures during transactions. It is not strictly a novelty, since previous legislation also allowed the use of e-signatures, but that regulation remained largely on paper and was not frequently used in practice." Palushi points out that the new law will bring closer compliance with EU regulations. "To a large extent, we transposed the EU regulation in our national one," he says. "There will be three types of e-signatures, some of them not requiring any certification, while others have more advanced requirements."
Palushi also reports there has been a significant amendment to intellectual property-related legislation. "The new law will regulate intellectual property, patents, industrial design, trademarks, etc. We have yet to see how the new law will be translated into practice," he cautions.
"Finally, a new law has been adopted in Kosovo on the trade of oil products, diesel, and petroleum," Palushi points out. "Previously, the oil industry was operating based on a law that was drafted back in 2000. There had been no legal changes ever since," he says. "The recent amendments have changed the preconditions for the trade of these products. There are promises that it will impact the industry and improve the overall control, quality, and consumer rights in relation to the petroleum industry," Palushi concludes.
