The Struggle of Kosovo Policymakers to Upgrade the Law on Religious Affairs

Apart from guarantees over freedom of religion, in the last two decades, authorities in Kosovo have made little progress in advancing its legal framework to accommodate the emerging needs of religious communities. The only law that regulates religious affairs in Kosovo is the 2006 Law on Freedom of Religion. The law is framed in very broad terms, and has received a lot of criticism for failing to properly regulate the status of religious communities. Representatives of these communities have consistently asked for changes to legislation that would grant them the status of legal entities. Without legal entity status, religious communities can only function at the most basic level. The government has tried to introduce a new law almost every year since 2011, but every attempt to change the law has failed so far. Why? Part of the answer is to be found in the legal complexities of Kosovo’s dealing with religion