PART THREE ADMINISTRATION OF PROCEDURE
CHAPTER XXIV COSTS OF CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS
Article 449
Type of Criminal Proceedings Costs
1. The costs of criminal proceedings are the costs incurred during the criminal proceedings and
the costs related to those proceedings.
2. The costs of criminal proceedings include the following:
2.1. costs of witnesses, expert witnesses, interpreters, specialists, stenography and
technical recordings as well as the cost of a site inspection;
2.2. costs of transporting the defendant;
2.3. costs of escorting the defendant or person in detention on remand;
2.4. transportation and travelling expenses of official persons;
2.5. costs of medical treatment of the defendant while in detention on remand or a medical
institution in accordance with a court decision and the expenses of childbirth;
2.6. a scheduled amount;
2.7. remuneration and necessary expenses of defense counsel;
2.8. necessary expenses of the injured party or victim and victim advocate or victim’s
representative and remuneration and necessary expenses of his authorized representative;
2.9. the Crime Victim Compensation Program fee; and
2.10. mediation.
3. The scheduled amount shall be within a range provided for in an Administrative Direction
issued by the Kosovo Judicial Council which takes into consideration the duration and complexity
of proceedings and the financial condition of the person required to pay the amount.
4. The expenses under sub-paragraphs 2.1 through 2.5 of paragraph 2 of the present Article
and remuneration and the necessary expenses of an appointed defense counsel under
Article 56 paragraphs 2 and 3 or Article 57 of the present Code and an appointed authorized
representative of an injured party is paid in advance from the funds of the police, the state
prosecutor or the court conducting criminal proceedings and they will later be collected from the
individuals who are required to pay for them under the provisions of the present Code. The body
conducting the criminal proceedings must enter all expenses which it has paid in advance in a
list that is appended to the record.
5. The costs of interpretation into the languages of the defendant, witness and other persons
participating in the criminal proceedings which are incurred during the application of the
provisions of the present Code are not collected from individuals who under the provisions of
the present Article are required to pay the costs of criminal proceedings.
6. The costs of interpretation shall not be paid by the defendant who does not know or speak
the language in which the criminal proceedings are conducted.
7. The remuneration and necessary expenses of a defense counsel appointed under Article 56
paragraph 2 or 3 or Article 57 of the present Code are paid from budgetary resources and are
not be paid by the defendant.
Article 450
Decision on Covering Costs of Criminal Proceedings
1. Every judgment or ruling which terminates criminal proceedings shall contain a decision on
who will cover the costs of the proceedings and the amount of the costs.
2. If the data on the amount of the costs is lacking, a separate ruling on the amount of the costs
is rendered by the recording clerk of the court and approved by the single trial judge or the
presiding judge when such data is obtained. The request with the data on the amount of costs
may be filed within three (3) months of the day of the service of a legally effective judgment or
ruling on the person who is entitled to make such request.
3. When the decision on costs of criminal proceedings is contained in a separate ruling, the
appeal against that ruling is decided by a panel.
Article 451
Payment of Costs due to Fault of a Person that Caused Them
1. The defendant, the injured party or victim, the defense counsel, the victim advocate or victim’s
representative, the witness, the expert witness, the interpreter, and the specialist, regardless of
the outcome of the criminal proceedings, shall meet the costs of their compulsory appearance,
the postponement of an investigative action, and other costs of proceedings incurred through
their own fault, as well as the corresponding share of the scheduled amount.
2. A separate ruling is rendered concerning the costs under paragraph 1 of the present Article,
unless the matter of costs to be paid by the defendant is decided in a decision on the main
issue.
Article 452
Effect of Guilty Verdict on Reimbursement of Costs
1. When the court finds the defendant guilty, it decides in the judgment that he must reimburse
the costs of criminal proceedings.
2. A person who has been charged with several criminal offenses is not ordered to reimburse
costs related to a criminal offense of which he has been acquitted if those costs can be
determined separately from the total costs.
3. In a judgment finding several defendants guilty, the court specifies what portion of the costs
shall be paid by each of them; but if this is not possible, it orders that all the defendants be
jointly and severally liable for the costs. Payment of the scheduled amount is specified for each
defendant separately.
4. In a decision which settles the issue on costs, the court may relieve the defendant of the
duty to reimburse entirely or partially the costs of criminal proceedings as provided for in Article
449, paragraph 2, sub-paragraphs 2.1 through 2.6, and sub-paragraph 2.9 of the present Code,
if their payment would jeopardize the support of the defendant or of the persons whom he is
required to support. If these circumstances are ascertained after the decision on costs has been
rendered, the single trial judge or presiding trial judge may render a separate ruling relieving the
defendant of the duty to reimburse the costs of criminal proceedings or permitting payment of
the costs by installment.
Article 453
Effect of Other Decisions on Reimbursement of Costs
1. When criminal proceedings are terminated or when a judgment is rendered which acquits
the defendant or rejects the charge, the court states in the ruling or judgment that the costs
of criminal proceedings under Article 449 paragraph 2, sub-paragraphs 2.1 through 2.5 of the
present Code, the necessary expenses of the defendant and the remuneration and necessary
expenditures of defense counsel are paid from budgetary resources, except in the cases
specified in the following paragraphs of the present Article.
2. A person who has deliberately filed a false charge pays the costs of criminal proceedings.
3. An injured party who has withdrawn a motion for prosecution so that the proceedings are
terminated shall bear the costs of the criminal proceedings if the defendant has not announced
that he will pay for them.
Article 454
Remuneration and the Necessary Costs for Defense Counsel or Victim’s Representative
1. The remuneration and necessary costs of defense counsel or victim’s representative of an
injured party or victim must be paid by the person represented regardless of who is ordered
to pay the costs of criminal proceedings in the decision of the court, unless either the defense
counsel is appointed under Article 56 paragraph 2 or 3 or under Article 57 of the present Code.
2. A defense counsel or victim’s representative is not entitled to remuneration if they are not
members of the Kosovo Bar Association. They are entitled to necessary expenses, while the
members of the Kosovo Bar Association are also entitled to income lost.
Article 455
Final Decision on Duty to Pay Costs
1. The final decision concerning the duty to pay costs which arise in the Basic Court is made by
the competent judge or panel of the Basic Court in accordance with this Chapter.
2. The final decision concerning the duty to pay costs which arise in the Court of Appeals is
made by the presiding judge of the Court of Appeals panel in accordance with this Chapter.
3. The final decision concerning the duty to pay costs which arise in the Supreme Court is made
by the presiding judge of the Supreme Court panel in accordance with this Chapter.
4. The terms of this Chapter apply mutatis mutandis to the costs incurred during the proceedings
related to extraordinary legal remedies.
Article 456
Regulations on Costs
The Kosovo Judicial Council issues a sub – legal act which regulates in more detail the issues
of payment of costs of criminal proceedings incurred before the court, which may be adjusted
annually.