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American judge of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo, Robert Carolan, stepped down on Monday, shortly after he publicly showed his disagreement on a court decision.
The President of the Constitutional Court, Enver Hasani, confirmed Carolan's resignation by stressing that he has been "informed by Judge Carolan of his decision which he said was made for personal reasons and he will not be any longer a judge with the Constitutional Court of Kosovo".
Local media reported that Carolan resigned from his post in the Court following some recent decisions in which he disagreed with the majority of the judges.
The most recent case was related to the election of the Kosovo Assembly speaker.
The leader of the opposition bloc, Isa Mustafa was elected Speaker of the Assembly with a majority on July 17, but the Court ruled that Mustafa's election was unconstitutional and dismissed him.
Judge Carolan had a different opinion on that case and publicly stated that the verdict was wrong.
Out of nine members of the Constitutional Court six are local, while three are internationals - including Carolan.
Their mandate started after Kosovo unilaterally declared independence in February 2008 but expired on Aug. 31, and due to lack of established assembly and government the renewal of their mandate is pending.
But, the impact of frequent disagreements with his colleagues is the most likely reason behind Carlon's decision not to wait for an extension of the mandate.
Head of EU Office and EU Special Representative in Kosovo, Samuel Zbogar expressed his appreciation for Carolan's contribution to the work of the Constitutional Court.
He added that he respects his decision not to continue service to Kosovo and international community.
"EULEX will soon start with the procedure of appointing a new international member of the Court in accordance with the exchange of letters, as ratified in Kosovo Assembly in April 2014," said Zbogar.
