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Language Commissioner of Kosovo

	Office of the Language Commissioner

Country / Region

Republic of Kosovo

Name of Office

Office of the Language Commissioner

Slaviša Mladenović

Name of Member

Slaviša Mladenović

Official Website

www.komisioneri-ks.org

About the Member

Slaviša Mladenović – Language Commissioner

Slaviša Mladenović was appointed as Language Commissioner as of 19th of December, 2012. Mr.Mladenović holds a BSc. degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology with a major in Economics &Statistics and Management, and a minor in Legal Studies. Currently, he is pursuing the MBA degree in the field of General Management at the University of Sheffield.

Prior to being appointed as a Language Commissioner, Mr.Mladenović has worked for the OSCE Mission in Kosovo in the field of analysis, reporting, and media.

Except for his educational and work experience, he has also attended training in the field of Public Administration, European Integration, and Negotiations in prestigious institutions such as Sciences Po, in France, and University of Sheffield in England. 

Apart from his mother tongue (Serbian) he is also fluent in Albanian and English.

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About the Member's Office

The Office of the Language Commissioner was established in April 2012 within the Office of the Prime Minister, based on Regulation No.07/2012.

Mandate of Office of the Language Commissioner  

  • Monitor compliance with the Law by any institution under its jurisdiction;
  • Take all necessary measures within its authority, including through mediation, to ensure compliance with the Law by any institution under its jurisdiction;
  • Review and make recommendations regarding regulations or administrative instructions made under the Law, and regarding the compliance and consistency of any other legislative act, regulation or administrative instruction with the Law;
  • Carry out investigations, whether on its initiative or pursuant to a complaint made by any natural or legal person into any failure of any institution under its jurisdiction to comply with the Law or with any other legal act relating to the status and use of the official languages as well as to other languages of communities whose language is not an official language of the Republic of Kosovo;
  • Provide, as appropriate, advice or assistance to the public regarding their rights under the Law;
  • Provide, as appropriate, advice or assistance to institutions under its jurisdiction regarding their obligations under the Law;
  • Assist the government in conducting, and autonomously conduct public awareness programs and regular outreach activities to inform the public regarding their rights under the Law.

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Key Information

Official Languages in Kosovo are Albanian and Serbian and have equal status as official languages and equal rights as to their use in all Kosovo institutions. Turkish, Bosnian and Romani languages have the status of official languages and languages in official use in municipal level.

Language of any community that constitutes five (5) per cent of the total population in any municipality has the status of an official language. Language of any community that constitutes three (3) or more per cent of the total population in any municipality or has been traditionally spoken in a municipality can be used as a language in official use.

The total population in Kosovo is 1,739,825 (1,252,248 of them are over the age 15). In the 2011 census was reported that persons over the age of 15 years 28,369 (3.4%) could speak Albanian as a second language besides the native language, 255 591 (30.4%) Serbian language, 49,729 (6.0%) Turkish, 47,779 (5.8) Bosnian, 2,359 (0.3%) Romani, 254,474 (30.9%) English, 115,480 (14.0%) and 24,467 German (3.0%) French.

Publications

Guidebook on the Implementation of the Law on the Use of Languages June 2014; Monitoring and Evaluation of Language Rights: Piloting the Use of Indicators in the Work of the Assembly of Kosovo January 2014; Monitoring and Evaluation of Language Rights in Kosovo Report March 2015; Annual Reports;