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Separation of Powers and Independence of Judiciary was discussed at a roundtable held in Pristina on 25 January, organised by EUKOJUST, the EU-funded project for the justice system reform. Report on Separation of Powers and Independence with comparative constitutional solutions, relevant ECJ jurisprudence, and comparative structure of the Ministry of Justice prepared by prof. Ivan Vanja Savić, EUKOJUST STE was presented at the roundtable.

EUKOJUST experts and Kosovo justice system officials (Enver Peci, President of the Supreme court of Kosovo,  Aleksandër Lumezi, Chief State Prosecutor, Blerim Sallahu, Deputy Minister, Albert Zogaj, President of Kosovo Judicial Council, Jetish Maloku, President of Kosovo Prosecutor Council and Enver Fejzullahu Director of Judicial Academy) presented their views and developing a common ground of effective cooperation between three branches of power within Kosovo Legal System (legislation-executive-judiciary) and finding the mechanism for achieving better cooperation for reform activities and for meeting EU criteria for integration process without jeopardizing independence of judiciary.

This is important for achieving a common understanding of the framework in which particular stakeholders are operating as well as finding best ways for mutual cooperation. This is needed for reforms which are essential of the European integration processes of Kosovo.

A three-day workshop for Drafting the Regulation on Internal Organization and Systematization of Jobs at the Kosovo Correctional Service, was held recently in Peja, organised by EUKOJUST.

In an open discussion the Kosovo Correctional Service officials and EUKOJUST international experts jointly worked on developing a clear vision of the competencies, roles and responsibilities of the Correctional Service, on the internal reorganization in the General Directorate as well as in correctional institutions.

The activity was yet another step towards the objective of drafting a Regulation which will advance and develop the correctional service in Kosovo, as an important mechanism within the overall Kosovo justice system.

Internal organization reform aims at advancing the Correctional Service of Kosovo, its functionality, better conditions for its employees, as well as better treatment of prisoners according to international standards.

Fifth Steering Committee meeting of the EU-funded EUKOJUST Project, was held on Monday, January 24, 2022 in Pristina in a hybrid format, by physical and online presence. The meeting was chaired by Deputy Minister of Justice, Mrs. Nita Shala.

Present at this meeting were also other voting right members: Mr. Albert Zogaj – Chair of the Judicial Council, Mr. Enver Peci – President of the Supreme Court, Mr. Jetish Maloku – Chair of the Prosecutorial Council, Mr. Enver Fejzullahu – Director of the Academy of Justice, Mr. Mentor Borovci – from the Office of the Prime Minister, Mr. Fehmi Stublla – Official Gazette.

The key topics of discussion were the activities and achievements of the Project during the 4^th quarterly report covering the period October – December 2021.

The European Union/Kosovo Justice Sector Programme – EUKOJUST organized a hybrid format roundtable to present findings and recommendations from assessment reports on Information and Communication Technology (TIK) infrastructure, courtroom infrastructure and archives in courts and prosecution offices. 

The roundtable was attended by the Chair of the Kosovo Judicial Council (KJC), Mr Albert Zogaj, Chair of the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council (KPC), Mr Jetish Maloku, European Union Office in Kosovo, representatives of the international stakeholders, courts and prosecution offices’ administrators and respective ICT and Archives departments of KJC and KPC. 

Further enhancement of the digitalization of courts and prosecution offices was underscored as a cornerstone towards the increase of efficiency, transparency and accountability of courts and prosecution offices to deliver justice. 

KPC and KJC chairs welcomed the organization of this roundtable and expressed their commitment to spearhead and support initiatives contributing to the digitalization of work processes in courts and prosecution offices.

On 19 January 2022, EUKOJUST held a workshop on ‘Guiding the Process of Drafting Legal Acts’ with representatives of the Legal Office of the Prime Minister’s Office and academia. The purpose of the workshop was to clarify some basic questions relating to the elaborating of the Legislative Drafting Manual and of the update of the Approximation Manual as well as to discuss the next steps forward. Following constructive, vivid and focussed discussions, an expression of the high level of ownership of the representatives of the LO-OPM on the process, the participants agreed on the reference models for the Legislative Drafting Manual, the outline of the Manual, the topics which need update in the Approximation Manual as well as the next steps.

Women’s Response to Domestic Violence and Fostering Institutional and Civil Society Organizations response to combat this negative phenomenon were discussed on Monday, 20 December 2021, at a roundtable organized by the EU-funded project EUKOJUST, in partnership with the Ministry of Justice. Officials from the Government, the Assembly, and the Civil Society presented their views on the presence of domestic violence in Kosovo and the ways of combating it.

A victim of domestic violence was present in this Roundtable, who after several years of suffering violence is facing, on one hand, with constant threats and, on the other hand, lack of adequate treatment by the justice system in Kosovo. The Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, MP Duda Balje, the representative of the Kosovo Women’s Network, Adelina Berisha, the representative of the EU Office, Lumnije Azemi, and the representatives of the EUKOJUST EU-funded project, Volkmar Theobald, Team Leader, and Bardhë Krasniqi, Public Legal Education Expert / Domestic Violence and Marginalized Groups Present were present at the roundtable.

EUKOJUST, which has the specific objective to strengthen access to justice for all citizens in Kosovo, especially in the field of domestic violence and marginalized groups, and the EU Office in Kosovo are committed to assist institutions, including civil society organisations, with the necessary expertise in combating domestic violence as effectively as possible.

Officials from prosecutorial system, supported by the EU Justice Sector Program in Kosovo- EUKOJUST, held a two-day workshop, to finalize the draft of the Strategic Plan 2022-2024. This workshop marks the last stage in the process of drafting the strategic plan prior to the approval by the Council.  EUKOJUST Project supported the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council throughout the entire process with expertise and advice.

During the discussions on the draft Strategic Plan and Action Plan, special emphasis was placed on policy planning for the management of the prosecutorial system in the next three years. The aim is that the system ensures a continuous increase of professionalism, efficiency and strengthening of independence, integrity, accountability and transparency, relying on constitutional and legal competencies. The participants established that this Plan contains feasible activities and actions, and it indicates the systematic monitoring of its implementation, specified in the Action Plan.

The workshop was attended by members of the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council, Chief Prosecutors of Prosecution Offices, Prosecutors from the Office of the Chief State Prosecutor, members of the Working Group for drafting the Plan, officials from the administration of the prosecutorial system, and EUKOJUST experts and representatives.

Preliminary findings and administrative gap assessment in the current functioning of the Kosovo Ministry of Justice (MoJ) Department for Free Legal Professions (FLP) and the MoJ Division for Overseeing the Legality of the Work of FLPs were presented and discussed in the roundtable held on Tuesday, 7 December 2021. The roundtable was organized by the EU-funded project EUKOJUST in cooperation with the Department for Free Legal Professions of the Ministry of Justice.

The roundtable provided the opportunity for an open discussion and consultation on the legal framework, competences, operation and administrative capacity of MoJ Department for Free Legal Professions and of the Division for Overseeing the Legality of the Work of FLPs with the aim of reaching common conclusions on the way ahead.

The preliminary findings together with the recommendations were prepared and presented by the Senior Short-Term Expert Ms. Pepa Laleva on the basis of a detailed screening of the current situation, including the analysis of the Kosovo legislation and practice, the organizational structures and the relevant European standards.

“The objective of this project activity is to support the MoJ in strengthening the FLP Department, considering the role of this department for the effective and quality delivery of services for free legal professions: notaries, private enforcement agents, mediators, bankruptcy administrators, and lawyers,” the EUKOJUST Team Leader, Volkmar Theobald, said.

He emphasized the special importance of this in the light of the role of FLPs as part of the justice sector for increasing the efficiency of the judiciary and for strengthening the rule of law in Kosovo.

EUKOJUST Long-Term Structure Expert, Kristian Turkalj, pointed out that it is in the interest of all stakeholders in the justice sector to have competent and professional officials in the MoJ who are well acquainted with the laws that regulate certain aspects of the functioning of the justice sector.

“In this regard, the need to further strengthen the Department of Free Legal Professions was emphasized, which should expand the scope of competence, accompanied by staff strengthening of the Department itself,” said Turkalj.

The findings of the report were openly discussed by the European experts, the Team Leader from the EU Office in Kosovo, Nicola Scaramuzzo, the representative of the Cabinet of the Minister of Justice, numerous officials of MoJ, the presidents and other representatives of the Bar Association, the Notary Chamber and the Chamber of Mediators of Kosovo. Main results from the discussions will be analysed, considered and included by the project in the final report, namely on the findings and recommendations for the more effective functioning of the FLP Department and the MoJ Division for Overseeing the Legality of the Work of FLPs.

The active participation of the representatives from the Justice Sector, the Public Administration Sector, the EU Office and the EUKOJUST is a guarantee for the direct impact of the results of the round table in view of Kosovo’s European perspective and of the need for citizen-oriented service delivery.

At a Roundtable held on 2 December, EUKOJUST Access to Justice Expert, Alina Laura Matache presented a comprehensive Report on Access to Justice for vulnerable people and marginalized groups, focusing on people with disabilities, Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians, and LGBTI community. The Report includes an analysis of the national legal framework with reference to international standards and conventions, the available mechanisms in place; access to judicial institutions for people with disabilities; information delivered in official languages and in the languages in official use; analysis of the costs, including court fees and time to deliver justice, and right to effective remedy.The roundtable was attended by institutional and civil society representatives and international organizations such as USAID, EULEX, and European Union Office/EU Special Representative. Speeches were delivered by the Ministry of Justice Cabinet’s Advisor, Nazlie Bala, Head of European Integration Department at Kosovo Judicial Council, Arlinda Krasniqi, Head of Kosovo Justice Academy, Enver Fejzullahu, Head of the Office of Good Governance/Prime Minister’s Office, Habit Hajredini, Head of Kosovo Disability Forum, Bujar Kadriu, Kosovo Association of the Blind, Mexhid Foniqi, Versitas, Sebastian Serifovic, Isak Skenderi, Director of Voices of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians (VoRAE) and Arber Nuhiu, Director of the Center for Social Group Development (CSGD). All stakeholders commended the Report as it presents a thorough analysis with tailored and concrete recommendations to increase trust in the justice sector and remove barriers to ensure access to justice for all citizens.

On 22 November, the Office for Good Governance/Office of the Prime Minister, in cooperation with the European Union Kosovo Justice Sector Program – EUKOJUST, organized a workshop on Access to justice for Roma and Ashkali communities. The workshop is part of a series of consultations regarding the drafting of the third Strategy dedicated to the inclusion of Roma and Ashkali Communities in Kosovo society 2022-2026. At the workshop, EUKOJUST Long-Term Expert Alina Laura Matache presented recommendations aimed to increase the trust in the rule of law institutions for Roma and Ashkali and as well to foresee concrete activities in the new Strategy. The meeting was attended by representatives from different Ministries and civil society from Roma and Ashkali communities.

EUKOJUST in close cooperation with the LO-OPM, on 1 December 2021, organized a workshop on EU Acquis on Criminal Procedure. This workshop was a follow up of an event organized on 29 October 2021 where the Report on the EU Acquis on Criminal Procedural Law, produced by EUKOJUST was presented. The event of 29 October 2021 served as a kick-off of the pre-screening thematic approach to EU approximation. This was considered to be also an awareness raising event, where the issues identified by the report were discussed with relevant stakeholders, such as judges, prosecutors, the police, correctional services, the LO-OPM, MoJ and defense lawyers. The event was very successful and generated a lively debate and discussion. Due to the debate, not all the issues identified in the event were discussed. Moreover, during the event and also after, in writing, participants expressed their high interest to organize more similar events. Following this, EUKOJUST and the LO-OPM organized a follow up event on 1 December 2021 to present the remaining issues in the report and to continue with the awareness raising among stakeholders.

Prishtina, 25 November 2021 – KPC, supported by the European Union Kosovo Justice Sector Programme- EUKOJUST, has organized a three-day workshop, which is attended by the Chair Jetish Maloku, Chief Prosecutors, Prosecutors from the Office of the Chief State Prosecutor, EUKOJUST representatives, members of the Committee on Normative Affairs, members of the drafting group and heads of units from the administration of the Kosovo prosecutorial system.The purpose of this workshop is to introduce and discuss the internal organization and functioning of the State Prosecutor, including discussing the draft organizational charts of the Office of the Chief State Prosecutor, the Appellate Prosecution, the Special Prosecution of the Republic of Kosovo and the basic prosecutor offices.In the framework of the presentations and discussions of the general draft of this regulation, a special emphasis is placed on the structure and responsibilities, organization of work, organization of the administration and the essential working conditions of the state prosecutor.At the end of this workshop, it was concluded that this draft contains important elements for the best functioning of the work in the State Prosecutors Institution, the approval and implementation of which will, in the future, contribute to strengthening and better management of the work of the State Prosecutors office.

On November 11, EUKOJUST organized a roundtable on „Strengthening the Legal Department of the Ministry of Justice “. After the presentation of the preliminary findings, by the German expert, all stakeholders were invited to discuss among others the issue of restructuring of the Legal Department, specialization of the staff and cooperation with other departments within the Ministry. The Roundtable was an opportunity to reflect on the competences, roles and responsibilities of the Legal Department followed by an open discussion and consultation on how EUKOJUST Project can contribute to strengthen the Legal Department and the Ministry, in the future.

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.

From 3 to 5 November, EUKOJUST in cooperation with the Legal Office of the Prime Minister and the Official Gazette, organized a workshop to finalize the Draft Administrative Instruction on Standards of Drafting of Legal Acts. This workshop was a follow up of a workshop organized this year in September.The Draft Administrative Instruction drafted by EUKOJUST served as a basis for the discussions and drafting of the new Draft Administrative Instruction. The final Draft Administrative Instruction introduces several novelties in relation to the Administrative Instruction in force. This draft contains the normative part where the main rules and principles of standards of drafting of legal acts are included. These rules and principles are further elaborated in a detailed manual for drafting of legal acts where concrete examples and explanations are provided. For the first time, the Draft Administrative Instruction introduces rules on techniques of amending legislation and authorization for sub-legal acts. The normative part of the Draft Administrative Instruction was finalized during this workshop. EUKOJUST, the Legal Office of the OPM and the Official Gazette are planning to organize other workshops in the coming months in order to finalize the Manual on Legal Drafting which will be an integral part of this Administrative Instruction.

On 29 October EUKJUST, in cooperation with the Office of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Justice, organized a Workshop on the presentation of the EU Acquis on Criminal Procedure. The workshop marked the kick-off of the pre-screening thematic approach to legal approximation. At the same time, the workshop served as an awareness raising for various stakeholders and practitioners dealing with criminal procedure in their professional daily activities. The Deputy Minister of Justice, Dr. Nita Shala held a welcoming speech, where she expressed the support of the Ministry of Justice and the Government of Kosovo regarding the change of approach in the approximation of the legislation with the EU Acquis. The focus of the workshop was the presentation of the Report on Six EU Directives on Criminal Procedure prepared by EUKOJUST Short Term Expert, Dr. Tony Marguery. The Report describes the EU acquis on Criminal Procedure with a focus on bottlenecks for transposing authorities as well as the interpretation of the Court of Justice of the EU and the European Court of Human Rights. The workshop was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Justice, Office of the Prime Minister, judges and prosecutors, police officers, defense lawyers and Correctional Service. All participants engaged into lively and fruitful discussions. EUKOJUST Short Term Expert Dr. Marguery and EUKOJUST Long Term Expert Dr. Idlir Peci steered the discussion and gave an overview of the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the EU and the European Court of Human Rights on all the topics discussed. This was the first workshop in a series of workshops that EUKOJUST is planning to organize on EU Acquis and legal approximation.

On 2 – 5 November 2021, the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council (KPC) organized a workshop in Tirana, to set up the fundamental directions and foundation for the Strategic Plan 2022 – 2025.

EUKOJUST Long-Term Expert Cristian Nicoara and Short-Term Expert Paul Beasley were invited to support the process and present international and European perspectives on strategic planning mechanisms and processes. Following the presentation delivered at the very beginning of the workshop, which established the line of work and institutional mechanisms to be followed while thinking strategic planning, the two EUKOJUST experts supported the discussions that followed on focusing the decision-making process towards establishing the strategic and operational lines of the Plan.

The activity will continue during the coming weeks with the work at the KPC to establish the content of the plan as designed, while during early December a final workshop will be organized, with the support of EUKOJUST, to finalize the Strategic Plan draft in order to present it to the KPC for approval.

EUKOJUST project, in cooperation with the Kosovo Chamber of Advocates (KCA), organized a one-day training with the topic “The Role of the Lawyer in representing the victims of Domestic Violence”. The training was delivered by the EUKOJUST Long Term Expert on Public Legal Education / Domestic Violence and Marginalized Groups Bardhë Krasniqi and Legal Advisor Nita Bejta to 18 lawyers licensed by the KCA. The focus of the training was building professional capacities of lawyers on protection from domestic violence, national legal framework including the latest trends in international law and jurisprudence, as part of the continuous legal education programme under the KCA umbrella, as well as building the soft skills of lawyers to understand the dynamics of domestic violence situations.The participants highly appreciated this training and benefited both from the professional point of view and from the good experience of the trainers.The training was delivered under the EUKOJUST project’s specific objective on strengthening access to justice for all citizens in Kosovo, particularly in the field of domestic violence and disadvantaged or marginalized groups.

On 18^th, 21^st and 27^th October, EUKOJUST LTEs Cristian Nicoara and Dragomir Yordanov delivered a course on “Fundamentals of Project Management” for the senior management staff of the Kosovo Justice Academy. In preparation for the upcoming projects, the major one being the movement of the Academy’s operations from the present location to the new one, the course focused on the major directions the project manager has to look towards to ensure successful implementation of the projects. The project lifecycle stages were presented, discussed and detailed, while exemplified with relevant activities from the KJA portfolio.

This phase of the course will be followed by a practical exercise scheduled for November 2021, where KJA senior management staff will work on significant real-life projects, thus bringing to fruition the knowledge presented and their professional expertise.

The Kosovo Prosecutorial Council, supported by the European Union/Kosovo Justice Sector Programme -EUKOJUST, has organized a three-day workshop, attended by Chairman Maloku, EUKOJUST Project representatives, members of the Committee for Normative Issues and officials of the Department of Information Technology in the KPCS, who, at the same time, constitute the Working Group for drafting the Regulation on the management of work processes through the Case Management Information System (CMIS). During the three-day workshop, discussions will focus on the procedural issues, including administration, management, access rights, data retrieval in CMIS, communication with the parties in the procedure, receipt, registration and distribution of cases and other aspects of work, which are within the draft Regulation on the management of work processes through CMIS, which is designed to ensure best functioning of work processes in the prosecutorial system. The participants stated that this workshop is of an extraordinary importance because one of the main pillars of the reforms in the prosecutorial system is the digitalization of the prosecutors’ work, which increases the work efficiency and enables a better management of general resources.