The failings in the rule of law were the main reason for the deployment of the EU rule of law mission to Kosovo (EULEX). The court system is the weakest institution in Kosovo. Since the end of the war it has been very ineffective in solving criminal cases and it is continuously overburdened.

The lack of political willingness combined with entrenched interests mean that there have been almost no reforms in the justice system in Kosovo. The current system gives no incentives for judges to perform thus we have a situation where the number of backlog cases continues to increase. Further, the courts are incapable of dealing with the more sensitive cases of corruption or organized crime.

Also, EULEX has faced challenges in becoming functional. This has led to a fall in its approval rating among the Kosovan population. EULEX performance so far has not been impressive, and it remains to be seen if it will succeed in supporting Kosovo's justice system to become effective.