Trial in Absentia

On May 12, 2026, the Academy of Justice, within the framework of its Continuous Training Program, is conducting the training on “Trial in Absentia.” The trainer for this session is Mr. Agim Maliqi, Judge at the Supreme Court.

The purpose of the training is to enhance participants’ understanding of the concept of trial in absentia, which was introduced due to frequent challenges in ensuring the presence of defendants. In some cases, these challenges have resulted in the statute of limitations expiring for criminal prosecution. In other instances, defendants have deliberately evaded justice, particularly in cases involving serious crimes such as genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, other offenses not subject to statutory limitation under international law, as well as aggravated murder.

The training will employ a combination of methodologies, including interactive discussions, practical case studies, group work, and analysis of decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

The beneficiaries of this training are judges and prosecutors from the basic instance courts and prosecution offices across all regions of Kosovo.