Month: February 2023

The first meeting of the Working Group on drafting of the Report on Ex-Post Evaluation of the Law on Protection from Discrimination was held on Wednesday, 22 February 2023 in Pristina. It is an important step towards conducting a comprehensive overview of the level of implementation of this essential law. This report will directly help institutions reach an informed decision making regarding eventual needs for legislative changes in the field of this report.

EUKOJUST is supporting the Legal Office of the Office (OPM) of Prime Minister and the Working Group in this process by providing technical expertise of two experts (Mr. Alban Krasniqi and Mr. Bedri Bahtiri). Assessment of the law implementation remains one of the key areas in which EUKOJUST provides direct support to the OPM and the Ministry of Justice.

Training on Victim-Centred Approach

Training on a victim-centered approach was organized on Tuesday, 21 February 2023, by EUKOJUST Access to Justice Expert Alina Matache as part of the activities related to strengthening access to Justice for vulnerable people and marginalized groups.

Sandra Buzlieva, EUKOJUST Expert on Strengthening the Victims Protection and Assistance Office (VPAO), provided participants with the necessary knowledge of essential international standards on the victim’s rights and the victims-centered approach. The victim’s centered approach prioritizes the rights and dignity of victims. It focuses on combating impunity, building a multi-stakeholder support network, and reorienting the approach to strategic communication toward transparency. EUKOJUST continues supporting Kosovo institutions to provide appropriate Access to Justice for the victims.

Pristina, 8 February 2023 – As part of the continuous support provided by the European Union / Kosovo Justice Sector Programme – EUKOJUST Project to the prosecutorial system in Kosovo, the deputy Team Leader, Cristian Nicoara, co-chaired a two-day workshop with the Deputy Chair of the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council Mr. Veton Shabani. The key topic of the workshop was the 2022 annual report of the KPC permanent committee for administration and drafting the work plan for 2023.

It was an opportunity for EUKOJUST experts to discuss with the senior members of the prosecutorial system administration and with the members of the permanent committee the challenges the system faced during 2022 and the means to address these in 2023 while aiming to improve and modernise the prosecutorial administration.

This forum also provided a platform to synchronise the activities delivered by the administration with the priorities of the EUKOJUST Project and of the EU Office in Kosovo, represented in the event by Mr. Mats Persson.

In the second day of the workshop the participants identified and addressed the challenges and obstacles foreseen in 2023 and the way of establishing mechanisms to address these. The ultimate goal is to ensure that prosecutorial administration will perform at the best standards of professionalism and efficiency in the years to come.

Pristina, 7 February 2023 – EUKOJUST facilitated a workshop for the Kosovo Justice Academy. The director of the Academy, Enver Fejzullahu presented two significant documents developed with the support of the European Union / Kosovo Justice Sector Programme – EUKOJUST: the regulation on trainers and the strategic plan 2023 – 2025.

The participation of the Kosovo Prosecutorial and Judicial Councils at the highest leadership level and various organisations active in the field of justice support was very significant, as there were more participants attending than initially envisaged, especially from the Kosovo judiciary.

The officials from various institutions welcomed both documents and thoroughly discussed them, contributing to improving the contents and ensuring they were tuned to the judicial reality in Kosovo.

“In times of great pressure over the Kosovo justice system, joint efforts of all the justice actors – Justice and Prosecutorial Councils and the Justice Academy – along with international counterparts are commendable, showing unwavering support for the improvement and strengthening of the justice system in Kosovo”, said the EUKOJUST deputy Team Leader, Cristian Nicoara.

Participation from the Western Balkans Rule of Law Initiative (WBROLI), Mr. David Wells and Mr. Blend Zyrapi was especially welcomed.

Training for the development of capacities of Kosovo Justice Academy (KJA) staff on gender issues and code of conduct based on international and national legal framework standards applicable to civil servants – was the focus of one-day training in Pristina. 22 KJA staff participated in the training conducted by EUKOJUST Long-Term Expert, Bardhë Krasniqi.

The aim of the training on “Gender Sensitivity and Code of Conduct in the workplace” is two folded. On the one hand, it aimed to develop abilities to recognize gender issues, especially the ability to recognize different perceptions about women and men and interests arising from their different social aspects and gender roles contribute to the ability to be gender sensitized in the workplace. On the other hand, it aimed to develop capacities to comply with the code of conduct principles and standards of comprehensive ethics that plays an important role in addressing ethical behaviour in the workplace and communicating behaviour expectations, its core values, mission, to create a healthy work culture in which employees feel as “being equally treated and working together”.

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 strengthen access to justice for all citizens in Kosovo.