Month: December 2022

A delegation from the Ministry of Justice of Kosovo, led by Minister Albulena Haxhiu, had a peer-to-peer visit to the Republic of Croatia, organized by EUKOJUST Programme.

The Kosovo delegation, consisted of representatives of the Ministry and EUKOJUST, first met with the Minister of Justice and Administration, Ivan Malenica. Various topics from the sphere of justice were discussed, such as the functioning and organization of the Ministry, the digitalization of the judiciary, the functioning of the witness support system, and the relationship and cooperation between the Ministry of Justice and independent institutions in the judiciary.

During the visit, Kosovo delegation had a meeting with the President of the State Judicial Council, Darko Maleković, and the Deputy President of the State Bar Council, prof. Ph.D. Elizabeta Ivičević Karas. Third day of the visit continued with meetings with the Chief State Attorney, the President of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia, the President of the Constitutional Court, and the President of the Parliamentary Committee for the Judiciary. The Kosovar delegation valued the visit as useful, as it was a great opportunity to become familiar with the good practices of Croatian institutions in strengthening the rule of law.

A roundtable on Cooperation and Coordination between translation and interpretation services of Kosovo Police, Kosovo Prosecutorial Council and Kosovo Judicial Council was held in Pristina. It was organized and moderated by the EUKOJUST Expert on Access to Justice, Alina Matache and supported by the EUKOJUST Expert on Management of Translation Services in Courts and Prosecution Offices, Filloreta Hoxha.

This Roundtable was a unique opportunity for the three institutions to discuss challenges and opportunities with regard to the delivery of translation and interpretation services and to finally draft an MoU which will regulate the cooperation. The Language Commissioner from the Office of the Prime Minister, Slavisa Mladenovic, as a key speaker to the event, also reiterated the importance of language compliance and interinstitutional coordination.

In the framework of the ongoing support to the Kosovo Judicial Council (KJC), EUKOJUST organized a workshop on drafting a Strategic Plan on Judicial Archives, on Monday, 12 December 2022.

The goal of the workshop was to present and discuss findings and recommendations of the initial draft.

The Strategic Plan has meticulously and systematically highlighted cumbersome practices impeding better efficiency to systemize, automatize and digitalize case archiving in all the courts throughout Kosovo. The Draft Strategic Plan has pragmatically laid out specific actions for intervention and proposed necessary tools and actions towards digitalization and automatization of archives in courts.

The KJC Chairman, Mr. Albert Zogaj, welcomed the workshop and EUKOJUST support to develop the Strategic Plan on Archives. He pledged KJC proactive support in approving the Strategy.

The cycle of trainings for the development of the professional capacities of lawyers on the international and national legal framework for protection from domestic violence, has continued with a one-day training held in Gjakovë. 42 lawyers from this region, licensed by the Kosovo Bar Association (KBA) participated in the training conducted by EUKOJUST Long-Term Expert on Project for Public Legal Education / Domestic Violence and Marginalized Groups, Bardhë Krasniqi.

The training “The role of lawyers in representing victims of domestic violence”, held earlier in other Kosovo regions, also aims to develop the soft skills of lawyers to understand the dynamics of domestic violence situations. The training is organized as part of the continuing legal education program under the umbrella of the KBA.

It was discussed on the the need to implement human rights standards such as the Istanbul Convention, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, The European Convention on Human Rights and the use of the judicial practice of the European Court of Human Rights in the jurisprudence of Kosovo as well as the new standards foreseen in the new Code of Criminal Procedure which will be implemented in 2023.

The training enhanced the standard of practice for lawyers dealing with domestic violence cases, and those dealing with other general cases, by equipping them with the necessary tools to deal with domestic violence or to screen for domestic abuse and to provide with appropriate legal advice when domestic violence is identified as a problem.

The participants positively evaluated the training from which they benefited both from a professional point of view and from the trainer’s good experience.

The training was organized within the specific objective of the EUKOJUST project to strengthening access to justice for all citizens in Kosovo, especially in the field of domestic violence and vulnerable or marginalized groups.

Until now, EUKOJUST has trained over 260 lawyers in four regions of Kosovo, and the last training was held within the “16 days of activism” campaign against gender-based violence.