International legal cooperation both in criminal and in civil matters is crucial for Kosovo’s regional and global standing. Such cooperation is one segment of a country’s external relations. A roundtable dedicated to the Department for International Legal Cooperation in the Ministry of Justice, took place on November 9. EUKOJUST Short term expert, Christian Johnson, conducted an analysis of the internal organization of the Department (divisions, workflow, statistics, staff, premises and IT environment, translation) as well as Kosovo’s current legal basis for international cooperation (national laws, bilateral agreements). Based on this comprehensive assessment, participants that included not only staff from the Department at stake, but judges and public prosecutors from various courts and public prosecutions offices throughout the country who rely on the functioning of international cooperation for their cases, engaged in a lively and fruitful discussion on several important aspects to further improve this cooperation. Special focus was laid on the field of extradition – which is already functioning very well – and the issue of translation, which is technical and often enough underestimated, but crucial.
