During June and July 1999 international military and civilian organisations entered a territory from which every form of administration and authority had become suddenly absent.  Their job was to provide all forms of government while preparing the people of Kosovo to take over that responsibility.

Such a difficult and unprecedented task, the imposition of a foreign administration on a society technically in anarchy, is bound to encounter problems.  This report examines the issue of law and order, a natural priority in a society so recently subject to fundamental upheaval.  It attempts to assess whether permanent damage is being suffered in this difficult early period, when policing is being carried out by KFOR soldiers pending the deployment of the UN Civilian Police.  It concludes by suggesting how the risk of damage can be minimised.

Prishtine/Pristina, 6 August 1999