Rule of Law

Goal Improved delivery of Justice through Rule of Law.

Background

All countries need a judicial system that is effective, independent, upholds the law, protects the rights of all of its citizens, and prosecutes powerful and ordinary individuals equally. A judicial system with these characteristics contributes to economic development, stability, and human rights by providing options to protect commercial interests, enforce obligations, and settle disputes.

As the world's newest country, Kosovo only recently assumed judicial control and authority from international actors and thus faces unique challenges. Traditional capacity development is important to establish judicial capacity and effective systems for enforcing decisions, but such capacity is only one component of the rule of law development process.

USAID support in the rule of law sector concentrates on improving access to justice, demand for justice, and respect for justice. USAID assists Kosovo's judicial system through two key Rule of Law objectives:

• Strengthening the independence, accountability, efficiency, and effectiveness of the justice system to ensure access for all citizens; and
• Bolstering public confidence in the rule of law by increasing demand for justice through fostering public awareness and participation in the judicial system.

USAID has specific assistance activities supporting justice sector institutions, including the courts, the Kosovo Judicial Council (KJC), the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), and the Kosovo Judicial Institute (KJI). These activities include strengthening the KJC's ability to fulfill its oversight, discipline and management roles; improving the MOJ's capacity to handle international legal assistance and represent the Government of Kosovo in legal matters; streamlining and modernizing court facilities and operations; and enhancing KJI's ability to train judges, prosecutors, and court personnel.

USAID is also assisting in the establishment of a sustainable, effective and independent judiciary. USAID works to strengthen Kosovo institutions and to improve the means and mechanisms for the enforcement of judgments, obligations and contracts, as well as implementing an alternative dispute resolution system to help reduce the massive backlog of cases currently overloading the courts.


Current Programs

1. Kosovo Justice Support Program
2. Systems for Enforcing Agreements and Decisions
3. Legal Profession Development Initiative


Kosovo Justice Support Program

USAID is assisting in the establishment of a sustainable, effective and independent judiciary. Through its Justice Support Program, USAID works to strengthen the judiciary while contemporaneously increasing the public's trust in the system.

Improving the administration of courts and professionalism of staff USAID has introduced a "model courts" program, designed to assist in the implementation of new reforms in Kosovo's court administration. The model court approach will then be adopted by the Kosovo Judicial Council (KJC), which is responsible for effective court operations within an independent judiciary, and applied to the remaining courts.

To facilitate the flow of cases, the KJC has adopted a system of acceptable time standards for cases, which allows the courts and the parties to better process cases through the litigation procedure.

In addition, educational programs for judges, prosecutors and court staff are helping legal professionals to develop practical skills, to better address ethical and professional dilemmas, to learn new areas of law and to provide better legal services to clients and the public at large.

Enhancing respect for ethics and delivery of quality services USAID is strengthening the Audit Section of the judiciary. This assistance includes training auditors to perform management studies and review court files to identify problems and monitor performance.

Help is also provided to the Kosovo Judicial Institute to review and augment the ethics codes for judges, as well as provide ethics training for judges and prosecutors.

A court system serving and representing all ethnic groups
USAID and the KJC have developed a strategy to address post-independence changes to the judicial system, including changes necessitated by decentralization and local government reform efforts.

Building an effective public prosecutors service
As the process of distinguishing the roles and responsibilities between judges and prosecutors is finalized, an Independent Prosecutorial Council is being established and equipped with the necessary tools, personnel, and training to build an effective public prosecutors service.


Systems for Enforcing Agreements and Decisions (SEAD)

Through this program, USAID works to strengthen Kosovo institutions and the means available to citizens and businesses for;

• the enforcement of contracts and obligations;
• the enforcement of judgments; and
• the use of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.

Improved Enforcement of Obligations and Contracts Training initiatives have been designed and incorporated into law school curricula and continuing education programs for legal professionals and judges. These new courses will address topics such as understanding legislative changes and the development of standardized commercial transaction forms and provisions.

Improved Enforcement of Judgments
The roles of judges in the enforcement process are being re-evaluated. The Backlog Reduction Initiative (BRI) has been very successful and is clearing the backlog of cases. Judges and clerks will receive relevant, regular training. Procedural shortcomings in the Law on Execution Procedures will be identified and amendments proposed. Importantly, a formalized training plan has been developed to establish a professional cadre of judicial execution professionals.

An Effective Alternative Dispute Resolution system The program includes the creation of training and certification standards, management and discipline procedures, and training institutions. The program will also identify and introduce appropriate international standards regulating the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) system. Finally, mediators and arbitrators will be trained and coached to ensure sufficient ADR capacity in Kosovo. Public information initiatives will be designed to promote ADR to citizens and the business community.

Legal Profession Development Initiative

The Legal Profession Development Initiative, implemented by the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative, builds on the previous Increasing Capacity of Legal Professionals program (2004-2008).
The objective is to help create a capable and well-regulated legal profession in Kosovo that meets the highest standards of integrity.

Legal Education
The initiative is helping better prepare law students to effectively serve in the legal profession through further improvements in legal education by establishing and improving the faculty-based legal clinics and other courses and programs, such as legal research and writing, that will strengthen practical skills training.

Legal professional development
The project further strengthens the ethical and competent performance of the legal sector through continued reform and further development of an independent Bar.

Activities include additional focused work with the Kosovo Chamber of Advocates (KCA), an evaluation of and possible creation of an efficient and effective regulatory system for the Kosovo legal system, and a review and possible revision of the current legal framework impacting the practice of law in Kosovo.

Assessment tools
Continues the use of assessments and publications to identify trends that are helpful in the evaluation of reform initiatives and future planning.

Challenges to legal reform and general developments in Kosovo's rule of law will be identified through assessment tools: the Legal Education Reform Index (LERI), Judicial Reform Index (JRI) and Legal Profession Reform Index (LPRI) as well as publications and other mechanisms that are designed to identify specific challenges to legal education and the legal profession.