Working in the legal sector, she has been fortunate enough to go on adventures around the world, meet exciting people, experience diverse cultures, and learn foreign languages – all the while doing what she loves. She’s your typical “Doer”-type personality, full of energy and enthusiasm; working with people, nurturing relationships, debating policies and decisions, and working to keep injustice at bay.  

Elka Yordanova Filcheva-Ermenkova is a key judicial figure, mostly focused on resolving property disputes in the last years. She works as a Judge at the Kosovo Property Appeals (KPA) Panel at the Supreme Court of Kosovo.

As of January 2012, Elka decides over property disputes related to the armed conflict of 1998/1999. “In simple terms those are cases when people (mainly Serbs) had to abandon their properties in that period and now are unable to repossess them because they are occupied by someone else,” she says.

The Kosovo Property Claims Commission dealt and is still dealing with roughly 42 000 claims which were filed in 2006 and 2007. When decisions are appealed they go to the Supreme Court of Kosovo, where Elka works.

Elka is also the Acting Vice President of the Assembly of EULEX judges, and as of January 2013 she is associated with the work of the Human Rights Review Panel, as a substitute member of the EULEX Judge in the Panel.

Elka graduated from law school in 1997. Her professional career started a year later as a junior judge. After that she has been a first instance judge, a president of a first instance court and a second (appeals) instance judge. Throughout the years Elka was occupied with all kinds of subject matters from civil, administrative and criminal law with prevalence of civil disputes.

For four years Elka worked as a Rule of Law Adviser for the CPCC (Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability). During her work, she went on many field missions in areas where EU has launched crisis management operations –Palestine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, DRC (Congo Kinshasa), Guinea Bissau. “Every time there were “adventures”, minor cultural shocks and lessons learned and I keep wonderful memories, both sad and joyful from these missions,” she says.

Elka studied law at the University in her hometown Blagoevgrad in Bulgaria. After the final exams, she had to go on a one year internship. “In different periods I assisted investigators, prosecutors or judges,” she tells. “When I was in the court I kind of felt at home. I liked the idea of being the one who would allegedly repair what went wrong…” says Elka.

Every other day, one must try do things better than the day before! 

According to Elka, Kosovo already has some good basis, the Parliament has produced a lot of basic laws, however many of them look like written in a rush and the texts very often are confusing. “I do not really understand the legislative techniques used. There are traditions and rules how laws should be written…” she says. “I see a lot of copy-paste approach in legal drafting. You cannot simply take an old law or a foreign law and rename it,” adds Elka. 

To a certain degree the mishaps of poor law drafting could be overcome if you have good jurists who may find reason even in very badly written legislation. Elka thinks that if lawyers have good theoretical, doctrinal preparation they will be armed with tools to deal even with very bad legal texts. “Regardless of the quality of laws and the professionalism of lawyers, the human factor is the most important. Even best of laws would not matter if power and money interfere with the ways of justice,” Elka concludes.  

Elka  Ermenkova values a lot the good cooperation with the local colleagues. “We have of course our differences but the good thing about working with reasonable people is that you find a ground to come to terms even when the issue at stake is highly controversial and difficult,” she says.

For all the young generation working in the justice system in Kosovo, Elka has a message: “Study, think, work. React fiercely at every occurrence of injustice.”

Elka likes Kosovo a lot, especially the fact that there are so many young people here. There is so much energy in the air. She also likes walking, hiking, planting flowers, learning… If she was not a judge, she would be a very good gardener. Whatever she plants, grows.