About the HPD and HPCC
Rreth HPD-së dhe HPCC-së (Shqip)
In trying to reverse the destructive effect of the conflict and the legacy of discrimination, it became critical that a processbe put in place to regularize housing and property rights. This calls for a consistent legal framework based upon international human rights and principles.
On 15 November 1999, UNMIK passed Regulation 1999/23 to establish the Housing
and Property Directorate (HPD) and the Housing and Property Claims Commission
(HPCC) to regularize housing and property rights in Kosovo and to resolve
disputes over residential property. The HPD and HPCC were specifically set
up to create an impartial and independent mechanism for resolving claims using
local and international legal expertise.
The work of the HPD and HPCC is governed by UNMIK Regulation 2000/60, which
came into force on 31 October 2000.
The HPD serves in part as the secretariat for the HPCC. The HPD prepares claims and conducts legal research, and it forwards all unresolved claims to the HPCC for adjudication. The HPD also administers abandoned and social housing throughout Kosovo. The HPD is staffed by lawyers and administrators from the international community as well as from Kosovo and operates under the umbrella of UNMIK.
The HPCC acts as a quasi-judicial body, formed by three commissioners (Alan
Dodson of South Africa, Veijo Heiskanen of Finland, and Aqif Tuhina of Kosovo).
Decisions made by the HPCC are final and not subject to review by any other
judicial authority in Kosovo.
International Commissioners
Alan Dodson (South Africa), the Chairman of the Housing and Property Claims Commission, is a world expert on the resolution of property disputes in transitional societies. He is an Advocate of the High Court of South Africa, where he specializes in property, constitutional, and administrative law. He served for five years as a Judge of the Land Claims Court of South Africa, chaired the Forestry Laws Drafting Committee, and now chairs the National Forests Advisory Council in South Africa. His publications have covered housing rights and environmental law.
Veijo Heiskanen (Finland) is Of Counsel at Lalive & Partners in Geneva and a member of the Steering Committee on International Mass Claims Processes at the Permanent Court of Arbitration. Previously Secretary General and Senior Claims Judge at the Claims Resolution Tribunal in Zurich, he has also served at the United Nations Compensation Commission in Geneva, the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal in The Hague, and as an expert of the Arbitration Commission of the International Conference for the Former Yugoslavia. His publications have covered international law and arbitration.
Local Commissioner
Aqif Tuhina (Kosovo/Macedonia) is a defense attorney based in Pristina. His long and distinguished career as a judge includes nine years on the bench of the Kosovo Supreme Court. He specializes in both civil issues (real property) and criminal matters. He also recently served as a consultant for the Kosovo Department of Judicial Affairs training the International Civilian Police.
Periodic
Reports