Council of Europe - Venice Commission

> > KOSOVO - Kosovo - Opinion on the “draft law on amending and supplementing the Law no. 03/l-174 on the Financing of Political Entities (Amended and Supplemented by the Law no. 04/l-058 and the Law no. 04/l-122) and the Law no. 003/l-073 on General Elections

KOSOVO - Kosovo - Opinion on the “draft law on amending and supplementing the Law no. 03/l-174 on the Financing of Political Entities (Amended and Supplemented by the Law no. 04/l-058 and the Law no. 04/l-122) and the Law no. 003/l-073 on General Elections

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Paragraph 49

The Venice Commission refers to relevant international standards such as Article 16 of Rec(2003)4which requires “effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions”. Information gathered by the rapporteurs clearly suggests that the existing regime of sanctions has not been effective to prevent infringements of the political financing regulations of the LFPE and the LGE. At least some of the basic penalties provided for by Article 21 of the LFPE – such as fines of €1,000, €2,000 or €5,000 – appear too low (especially when compared to the amounts at stake in the area of political financing)to have a deterrent effect against malpractices such as submission of inaccurate financial data, failure to publish financial reports or keeping more than one bank account.