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Raising the professional capacities of Free Legal Aid legal officers on the practical “Implementation of international and Kosovo legal framework on protection from domestic violence and developing soft skills on the dynamics of domestic violence situations” was the focus of a two-day training that was organized in coordination and cooperation with Agency for Free Legal Aid.

Seven Free Legal Aid (FLA) legal officers from all Kosovo regions and mobile offices attended the training held by the long-term EUKOJUST Project Expert for Public Legal Education / Domestic Violence and Marginalized Groups, Bardhë Krasniqi. The training “Implementation of international and Kosovo legal framework on protection from domestic violence” and the relevant material is adapted for and aims to equip FLA legal officers with the knowledge and skills they need to provide vital assistance to domestic violence victims on the following objective parts:

• Understanding the dynamics of domestic violence,
• Legal remedies for domestic violence,
• Interviewing and counselling domestic violence victims,
• Safety planning,
• Working with law enforcement,
• Cultural sensitivity,
• Self-care and dealing with domestic violence victims’ traumas.

The training aimed to provide valuable information to FLA legal officers in assuring that domestic violence victims have profound access to the courts and legal remedies available to address various forms of domestic violence affecting victims’ rights and safety. In addition, access to justice is extended to the individuals who are involved in the victims’ life such as children or other family members.

The participants greatly appreciated this training and benefited both from a professional point of view and from the good experience of the trainer.

The training was held within the specific objective of the EUKOJUST project to strengthen access to justice for all citizens of Kosovo, especially in the area of ​​domestic violence and disadvantaged or marginalized groups – and is in line with the Strategy for the Rule of Law and with the Strategy for Protection from Domestic Violence and Violence against Women as well as their respective Action Plans.

The Kosovo Judicial and Prosecutorial Councils got together in a joint meeting to address the matters, challenges and opportunities faced by the judiciary and prosecutorial system in a comprehensive and unified manner.

EUKOJUST is pleased for managing to bring around the table the Councils, Court Presidents, Chief Prosecutors, and senior management in the judicial prosecutorial administration together to address the most pressing issues.

In this way the judiciary and prosecutorial system will overcome outstanding obstacles impeding their efforts to have a seamless cooperation towards further improving transparency, efficiency, and citizens’ access to justice.

The workshop was part of the EUKOJUST support to Kosovo justice institutions in creating a coordination mechanism to further the implementation of the Rule of Law Strategy and to enhance cooperation in cross-cutting matters pertaining to all justice sector institutions.

The expansion of the range of trainings for enhancing professional capacities of lawyers on international and national legal framework for protection against domestic violence, continued during February. Around 50 lawyers from Ferizaj region, licensed by Kosovo Bar Association (KBA) participated in the training conducted by EUKOJUST Long-term Expert on Public Legal Education / Domestic Violence and Marginalized Groups, Bardhë Krasniqi. In this regard, the number of lawyers trained for more competent representation of victims of domestic violence is increasing.

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

During the training, the need to implement human rights standards such as  Istanbul Convention, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the European Convention on Human Rights and the use of judicial practice of the European Court of Human Rights, was discussed. Also, new standards foreseen in the new Criminal Procedure Code which started to be implemented  few weeks ago.

The training raised 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 domestic abuse and to provide appropriate legal advice when domestic violence is identified as a problem.

The participants positively evaluated the training from which they benefited both professionally and from the trainer’s extensive experience, and they were all provided with certificates.

The training was organized within the specific objective of EUKOJUST project to strengthen access to justice for all citizens in Kosovo, especially in the field of domestic violence and vulnerable or marginalized groups. So far, the Project has trained about 310 lawyers in five Kosovo regions.

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.

To improve the justice system in Kosovo is what the EUKOJUST works for every single day! It is an ongoing support to the justice system reform!
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The activities and outcomes of the European Union/Kosovo Justice Sector Programme – EUKOJUST, in the period October-December 2023 were discussed at the 9th Steering Committee Meeting of the project on Wednesday, 25 January 2023, in Pristina.

The meeting was co-chaired by Mr. Enver Fejzullahu, Director of Academy of Justice, and Mr. Volkmar Theobald, EUKOJUST Team Leader. Deputy Minister of Justice, Mr. Blerim Sallahu, Judge of the Supreme Court, Ms. Valdete Daka, Chair of the Kosovo Judicial Council, Mr. Albert Zogaj, Deputy Chair of the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council, Mr. Veton Shabani, Director of the Legal Office of the Office of Prime Minister Mr. Mentori Borovci, EUKOJUST Project Director from IRZ Ms. Teresa Thalhammer, and Mr. Nicola Scaramuzzo from the EU Office in Kosovo were present at the meeting.

During the presentation of results from the last quarter of 2022, EUKOJUST highlighted the improvements in two segments: Consolidation and alignment of the legal and institutional framework with EU Aquis, and implementation of laws and access to justice, particularly for women and disadvantaged groups.

During this period, project continued to offer professional support in the justice system reform by assisting the beneficiary institutions.

Among others, the support has been provided in the following processes and issues: preparation of Inter-institutional coordination mechanism to monitor the implementation of the Rule of Law Strategy (2022-2025) and addressing important matters related to this process; Action Plan and Overall Assessment of ICT Systems in the Justice Sector, which is essential in having a transparent and efficient justice system for the citizens of Kosovo; drafting of the Strategic Development Plan (SDP) and reorganization of the Ministry of Justice as per the project’s recommendations, as well as the work on the Concept Document on the Administrative Justice Reform in Kosovo.

After the discussion, the voting members of the Steering Committee scheduled the date of the next Steering Committee Meeting and agreed on its chairing, while EUKOJUST presented the work plan for the next quarter.

With a team of national and international experts, EUKOJUST Expert on Access to Justice, Alina Matache, conducted significant capacity building activities in close cooperation with the Kosovo Justice Academy (KJA), the Kosovo Bar Association (KBA) and the Agency for Free Legal Aid (AFLA).

The activities in the form of workshops and training contributed to enhancing the skills of judges, prosecutors and legal professionals on international, regional, and national human rights frameworks on hate speech and hate crime, gender and sexually motivated violence, standards for the protection of persons with disabilities and antigypsyism, with a particular focus on the European Court of Human Rights case-law and Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD).

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.

EUKOJUST representatives together with EU Office representatives and the selected company to develop the E-File for judges’ system, had the first introductory meeting with the Chair of the Kosovo Judicial Council and the working group to commence the work towards development of this system.

Through this activity, Kosovo Judicial Council intends the establishment of an advanced system for electronic management of judges’ files. This electronic system will enable KJC to conduct and manage critical processes pertaining to recruitment of new judges, performance evaluation, professional development, promotion of judges and implementation of disciplinary procedures in a more effective and transparent manner.

The Case Management Information System (CMIS) is now implemented and in use throughout the Kosovo prosecution system. After an initial pilot phase, currently, the CMIS is a critical tool used by the prosecutors and the administration in performing their judicial activity. This is a critical leap forward in Kosovo’s modernization and digitalization of prosecutorial and judicial activity.

Nevertheless, as with any new system implemented, the practice is always more complicated than initially thought. Therefore, EUKOJUST project organized on 17 and 18 November, 2022, a workshop with the critical users and the senior management of the prosecutorial system in Kosovo, aimed at providing the practitioners with a platform to discuss findings, identify challenges and reach solutions.

At the same time, internal horizontal communication between prosecution offices is fostered, knowing that solutions are there already; they only need to be identified and shared with colleagues.

With the support of the EUKOJUST Program, over two days, on November 14 and 15, 2022, the workshop of the Working Group on the Concept Document for the Administrative and Labor Court was held.

The workshop was a continuation of the work on joint implementation of reforms between the Ministry of Justice, the Judicial Council and the Supreme Court, a coordination facilitated by EUKOJUST Program.

The workshop started with a presentation of comparative analysis of the institutional structures of administrative justice in several EU countries and the region, conducted by Mr. Visar Morina, EUKOJUST Expert for Administrative Justice

Moreover, the participants presented their views on specific sections of the concept document, which will define the structure of the reform that will be implemented in terms of judicial institutional framework on administrative justice.

Following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between Kosovo Justice Academy and several Civil Society Organizations, establishing the Friends of the Academy Network, EUKOJUST facilitated the third roundtable to discuss the training program of the Academy, held on 7 November 2022.

The Director of the Academy, Enver Fejzullahu, informed the CSOs of the activities carried out during 2022 and the draft training program of 2023 with a focus on specialized training on organized crime, corruption, domestic violence and access to justice.

During the roundtable, priorities of training curricula on certain thematic areas were tackled including proposals of specific modules from CSOs following their needs assessment.

In addition, a special corner of the Friends of the Academy Network inserted on the website of the Academy was launched. The corner will provide the opportunity to CSOs to closely follow the joint activities and the outcomes of the cooperation between KJA and NGOs.

The first roundtable was dedicated to the launching of the concept of the Network to several CSOs and its importance in strengthening cooperation between CSOs and KJA in terms of judicial education.

The second roundtable was dedicated to the signing of the MoU between CSOs and KJA. In addition, participants had also the opportunity to exchange information over training curricula’s quality and adult learning in the judicial sector, including presentation on the best practices on judicial training methodology.

The EUKOJUST program has supported the Ministry of Justice and the Working Group in a two-day workshop for the drafting of the Draft Law for the amendment and supplementation of Law No. 06/L-086 on the Special Chamber of the Supreme Court of Kosovo on the Privatization Agency of Kosovo Related Matters. The workshop was held on November 3 and 4, 2022.

This constitutes a joint and coordinated initiative between the Ministry of Justice, the Kosovo Judicial Council, and the Supreme Court. Such coordination is achieved with the support of EUKOJUST, the Program on reforming the Kosovo justice system.