During this summer season, just like in previous years, employees at the Palace of Justice in Prishtina are facing harsh working conditions due to high temperatures and the malfunctioning of the air conditioning system.
Indoor temperatures in workspaces, including offices and courtrooms, have reached up to 34–35°C, negatively affecting the health of judges, administrative staff, and parties involved in court sessions, as well as the daily work efficiency of the court.
According to official information, the problem stems from the malfunction of one of the two heat pumps that serve the building’s air conditioning system. Currently, only one heat pump is operational, but it cannot handle the load for the entire building. As a result, there have been reports of employees fainting, and the Trade Union Association of the Basic Court in Prishtina does not exclude the possibility of organizing protests.
Meanwhile, the Kosovo Judicial Council (KJC) has authorized the presidents of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, the Commercial Court, and the Basic Court in Prishtina to evaluate working conditions and consider the possibility of suspending or reducing work.
Mirlinda Gashi, spokesperson for the Basic Court in Prishtina, stated that the high temperatures have created unbearable conditions for employees at the Palace of Justice.
She said that due to the situation, the health of workers with chronic illnesses has worsened, and there has even been a case of fainting.
“In the Basic Court building in Prishtina, the air conditioning is not functioning, and as a result, temperatures in court offices and courtrooms have reached up to 34 degrees Celsius. This creates difficult working conditions and an unbearable environment for judges, court staff, as well as parties in proceedings who constantly attend court sessions… The high temperatures in offices and courtrooms are negatively impacting the health of judges and administrative staff, as well as the efficiency of work in the court. Considering that several officials have chronic illnesses, this situation is worsening their health, and yesterday we even had a case of fainting in the court,” said Gashi.
Employees in the building are demanding minimal working conditions, stressing that so far, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which manages the building, has not taken concrete measures to solve this problem.
“The court management has repeatedly informed the competent officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the division responsible for building management, requesting intervention to fix the problem, but so far no concrete measures have been taken, and the situation remains the same… Our demand is simple and legitimate: to ensure minimal and humane conditions to carry out work with dignity and to conduct court proceedings regularly. We also call on the relevant institutions to take immediate measures because an alarming situation has been created,” she emphasized.
Concerns about working conditions in the premises where justice institutions are located are also expressed by the union representatives of the Basic Court in Prishtina.
Naim Rrustemi, chairman of the Trade Union Association of the Basic Court in Prishtina, has again raised the alarm about the harsh working conditions at the Palace of Justice, stressing that the air conditioning problem is not new but a long-standing concern dating back to the inauguration of this building.
“This problem you know has been ongoing, if not since the inauguration of this building, then certainly for many years. Summer is catastrophic, temperature is catastrophic, air conditioning zero, in winter there is no heating, I don’t know how long our state and ministry will intervene to create conditions. Definitely, we are very bad… The air conditioning does not work, conditions for work are terrible… If it is 33 outside, inside it is up to 35 degrees, it is always two degrees higher inside than outside, so our conditions are very bad… We strongly ask the Ministry of Internal Affairs to solve this because this building is really in very bad condition. For the health of workers, it is really necessary to intervene and create conditions for work,” he stressed.
The union leader emphasized that the high temperatures cause physical fatigue, dizziness, and difficulty concentrating, making it impossible to work under normal conditions.
According to him, the union has repeatedly made requests, but so far no concrete measures have been taken, which has pushed him to warn about the possibility of organizing protests.
“It affects very badly, we have dizziness, we have fatigue… Conditions are not good, concentration at work is not good… We cannot continue like this indefinitely, we have asked as much as we are entitled to as unionists… Maybe next week the union will sit and consider next steps, why not maybe a one or two-hour protest, and we really don’t want that, but maybe we are forced to block work,” Rrustemi said.
The Kosovo Judicial Council, in a response to KosovaPress, stated that they are aware of the situation at the Palace of Justice. Referring to some answers from this institution received from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, it was said that heat pump 1 is out of order.
The response also states that the Ministry of Internal Affairs has informed them that a contract for fixing the situation has been signed and the problem is expected to be solved soon.
“For the problem in your premises regarding the failure of air conditioning (cooling), I inform you that there is an issue with heat pump 1, which is out of order due to a defect, and currently, we are operating only with heat pump 2, which is functional but cannot reduce the temperatures to normal cooling levels for the entire Palace of Justice building. We have addressed this problem and initiated procurement procedures within the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and according to information from the head of DSPIMNQS Mr. Sundim Selmanaj, the contract has been signed by the Procurement Department in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. This problem will be resolved soon to have heat pump 1 operational, which will achieve normal temperatures for all areas of the Palace of Justice,” the KJC response reads.
According to the Kosovo Judicial Council, installing additional devices is both a technical and financial issue that KJC cannot cover.
“We will insist on repairing and functionalizing the current system and for this, we have planned and sent a budget request to the Ministry of Finance so that at least one million euros is allocated in next year’s budget for necessary interventions in the technical maintenance of the Palace of Justice, with special emphasis on the air conditioning and ventilation system,” the response from the Kosovo Judicial Council stated.
The Palace of Justice in Prishtina was inaugurated in 2014, after construction that began in 2011. This building has continuously faced problems with air conditioning both in winter and summer, and it is often flooded by water as well.
