Chapter 8. Interim-governance for Kosovo: the Rambouillet Agreement and the Constitutional Framework Developed under UN Administration

Abstract

Kosovo has gone through an interesting permutation of constitutional designs, from a autonomous territory within Serbia to a quasi-federal entity in the 1974 SFRY system. Afterwards, the Hill drafts, but in the most pronounced way the Rambouillet agreement, provided for an ever-more complex fractionating of public power in Kosovo. This instrument was principally generated by United Nations and other international drafters although with input from experts representing the majority population. Overall, the case of Kosovo is a difficult one to assess in terms of the performance of power-sharing arrangements. The Serb-held ministry tended to be isolated and politically irrelevant. However, towards the end of the interim period, performance improved markedly. Similarly, the transfer of powers from UNMIK to local ministries removed the tendency to blame only the international administration for all ills befalling Kosovo and instead impelled the local political parties to accept more responsibility for their own conduct. Keywords: constitutional designs; Hill drafts; interim-governance; Kosovo; power-sharing arrangements; Rambouillet agreement; United Nations; UNMIK