Strengthening of the capacities and inter-institutional coordination, as well as the independence and transparency were some of the key outcomes of the EUKOJUST quarterly report, April – June 2023, presented at the 11th Steering Committee meeting, held on 26 July 2023 in Pristina.
Director of the Legal Office of the Prime Minister’s Office Mr. Mentor Borovci, and EUKOJUST Team Leader Mr. Volkmar Theobald, co-chaired the regular Steering Committee meeting of the Justice Sector Programme for Kosovo, financed by the European Union. Present at the meeting were also: Deputy Minister of Justice Mr. Vigan Çorolli, Chair of Kosovo Judicial Council Mr. Albert Zogaj, deputy Chair of Kosovo Prosecutorial Council, Mr. Veton Shabani, Deputy Chief State Prosecutor, Mr. Agron Qalaj, EUKOJUST Project Director from IRZ Ms. Teresa Thalhammer, as well as Mr. Nicola Scaramuzzo from EU Office in Kosovo.
During the joint presentation Mr. Volkmar Theobald and EUKOJUST Legal Adviser, Nita Bejta, underscored the improvement of the consolidation and alignment of the Kosovo legal and institutional framework with EU Aquis and implementation of laws. The Government legislative agenda for 2023 foresaw amendment of 100 laws, out of which 10 fall under the scope of the Ministry of Justice. EUKOJUST will be providing continuous support to 8 of them.
There is a significant improvement also on the access to justice, particularly for women and disadvantaged groups. Intensive capacity-building activities were provided to judges, prosecutors, professional associates and lawyers to increase their understanding on international standards and Kosovo’s legal framework on Domestic Violence and Gender Based Violence.
Main support and deliverables provided to the main stakeholders, mentioned by the project representatives, also include the support for activities deriving from Joint Statement of Commitment. EUKOJUST is providing support on this in terms of coordination and expert support to the working groups that are established to assess, and draft of legal initiatives with the aim to strengthen the legal framework.
Capacity-building activities to rule of law stakeholders focusing on access to justice, gender sensitivity and the practical implementation of the DV legal framework were delivered.
Among the deliverables the project also listed the support in drafting of the reports and analysis as well as policies for different justice sector institutions; professional expertise and comments provided for the legislation, legal documents, regulations, concept documents, and action plans; development of training materials for improving access to justice, gender sensitivity and for the implementation of DV framework. After the discussions, the voting members of the Steering Committee set the end of October as the date for the next Steering Committee Meeting and agreed on its chairing, while EUKOJUST presented the work plan for the next quarter.
