Dear fellow citizens,

I am most happy to see that our country, Kosova will have its Official Gazette, as the main body for publication of legislation acts. Maybe we are late, but in our history of establishment of the rule of law this is a very important step. Civilized people are led by written norms.

That the equality of citizens to the law and the guarantee of the realization of these rights would not be effective if the citizens would not be informed on applicable legislation.

Publication of legislation is a message which has an editor – country - and reception - the citizen. We may say that the publication presents the basis in respect to the balance of the state of law, regarding the existence of norms in one hand and the issue of communication in other hand.

In a state of law, liberal and democratic country an unpublished norm is a norm which does not exist and as such, it can not be applied. In all the fields of civil, criminal, financial or administrative law the publication of norms enables the rights and obligations of everyone. This is so true even in the relationships between the institutions and citizen as well as among the people itself.

The publication of norms places the citizens in an equal position before the law.  Only through publication of the norms, we can establish a social system, we can have legal stability. This is also one of the fundamentals of democracy.

The publication of norms allows them to be exposed and in this way they can be subject to the critics of citizens, and enables efficient use of their rights.

In that respect it is ensured a better functioning of country institutions and society. In the other hand all countries lives in a network of international, economic and political relationships. It is more attractive for an investor to invest in a country where the laws are transparent and are informed on administrative, fiscal or market rules than in a country where the norms are not accessible since they are not published.

Finally, the publications of norms establish collective memory of a nation and a country: they establish continuity among generations and legislation. It gives rhythm to the life of a country. The history of a country is connected and transmitted through the legislation.

Agim Çeku