ABSTRACT
In 1999, the overall mandate provided to the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (“UNMIK”) and the Kosovo Force (“KFOR”) was unprecedented in its complexity and magnitude.1 KFOR, led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (“NATO”), and numbering be tween 40,000 and 50,000 troops, was responsible for ensuring peace and a secure environment throughout Kosovo. UNMIK had to govern an entire province and reestablish a functioning public sector in the midst of substan tial destruction, communal devastation, and the exodus of the former re gime. The number of tasks necessary to achieve this mandate was over whelming, and included the development of a civil service, the establish ment of all social services, and the reconstruction and operation of public utilities and roads, airports, and public transportation. Furthermore, U N MIK had to encourage economic growth through the establishment of a banking system and the formulation of budgetary, currency, and taxation policies. Essential to the ultimate success of the mission was also the devel opment of a public broadcasting system, the support of independent media and civil society, and the cultivation of a political system in which political parties could flourish and peacefully cooperate. Most vitally, however, the UN needed a legal basis and a criminal justice system that could foster re spect for the rule of law so that all activities could be carried out and sus-
* Opinions expressed in this Article are solely those of the authors and do not represent the views of any organizations or governments with which the authors have been or are associated. Significant portions of this Article reflect the authors’ respective experiences while working in Kosovo.
