A 78-year-old woman from Drenas, who lost her husband in the war, has won a case for double pensions nearly two years after filing it. She had sued the Ministry of Finance in 2024, eight years after being left without her old-age pension. This month, she won the case at the Basic Court in Pristina – Administrative Department.

The court ruling obliges the ministry to pay her both pensions and to compensate all pensions that were withheld since 2016.

Her lawyer, Nazmi Sallahu, told KosovaPress that the woman had received both pensions for only four years before one of them was suspended.

“The pensioner, who had been receiving the basic old-age pension, started receiving it in 2012. At the same time, she was also a beneficiary of the civilian war victims’ pension because her husband was killed in the war. She received both pensions in parallel until September 15, 2016. After that, the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare suspended her basic old-age pension, arguing that she already received the civilian war victims’ pension, referring to a law that contradicted a previous law, which had specifically regulated these categories,” he said.

As a result, the woman had to choose between the two pensions.

“When her basic old-age pension was suspended, the plaintiff, following recommendations from pension officials, was advised not to claim the denied pension, because doing so could have led to suspension of the more favorable civilian war victims’ pension. Since this latter pension provided higher payments, she chose it. Pension officials always told her not to apply, to avoid losing her right to the more favorable pension,” Sallahu told KosovaPress.

She began her legal battle in April 2024, and won the case nearly two years later.

“Referring to a Supreme Court decision and the law on war-related categories, specifically the ex specialis law as determined by the Supreme Court, the court recognized her right to the basic pension and retroactively from the date of its suspension, meaning from September 16, 2016. The Ministry of Finance is obliged to compensate the basic old-age pension retroactively, according to annual pension adjustments or government decisions on pension increases, until full payment is made, and to continue recognizing her basic pension rights as long as the legal conditions are met,” he concluded.

This is not the only case where people seek rights through the courts. Several cases involve veterans and survivors of sexual violence who have filed lawsuits to receive double pensions.

Meanwhile, in October of last year, the Supreme Court of Kosovo annulled a provision of an administrative instruction that required KLA veterans to provide proof that they were not employed in order to qualify for a pension.