The 12th Steering Committee Meeting of the EU project EUKOJUST was held on 30 October 2023 in Pristina (Kosovo). The IRZ has been conducting this project for over three years in collaboration with the Dutch partner organisation, CILC, and the Croatian Ministry of Justice and Administration.
The meeting was opened by, among others, the Minister of Justice of Kosovo, Ms. Albulena Haxhiu, the Ambassador of Germany, Mr. Jörn Rohde, and the Ambassador of Croatia, Danijela Barisic. The Minister highlighted the important role of the project in the country's ongoing judicial reform and stressed the relevance and usefulness of the work results arising from the project for the institutions, both in terms of numerous legal reforms and the restructuring of the Ministry of Justice or in the area of “access to the judiciary for all population groups”. This appreciation was seconded by the Presidents of the Councils (Judicial Council and Public Prosecutor's Council of Kosovo), Albert Zogaj and Jetish Maloku, and Enver Fejzullahu, Director of the Judicial Academy.
In addition, all the stakeholders renewed their wish to extend the project beyond January 2024, when the project is scheduled to end. We are currently coordinating a cost-neutral extension of the project by a few months with the EU office in Kosovo. A further extension up to the end 2024 is also under discussion, but cannot currently take place because, due to the stalled political dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, measures by the European Union against Kosovo prevent the release of further funds.
The diversity of the EU project's project activities was illustrated by the other items on the agenda this week along with the SCM:
2-day workshop for the staff of the Legal Department of the Prime Minister's Office to finalise the reformed internal regulations on legal harmonisation
Working group meeting to draft a new law on administrative court jurisdiction
The award of completion certificates to employees of the Ministry of Justice (including the departments for Legislation and EU Integration) for their successful participation in English legal terminology courses at two difficulty levels.
The IRZ, its partners and the project beneficiaries are continuing to work on options to extend the project to ensure it is not terminated in this important phase.
Expert conference in cooperation with the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kosovo on the “Right to a fair trial”, held in Thessaloniki (Greece) on 18-19 July 2023. Kosovo
The IRZ organised a two-day conference with the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kosovo on 18-19 July 2023 in Thessaloniki on the topic of the “Right to a fair trial”. This joint exchange of expertise and experience should help to promote a uniform understanding of competence and legal opinion between the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court in Kosovo. This format also assisted discussions between the two courts.
15 judges and nine academic staff from both courts therefore met for two days to discuss topics such as the “Right of access to justice”, the “Right to freedom and security” and the “Right to a reasoned decision”.
The President of the Constitutional Court, Ms. Gresa Caka-Nimani, the President of the Supreme Court, Mr. Fejzullah Rexhepi, the Chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council, Mr. Albert Zogaj and the head of the Southeast Europe II/South Caucasus project area, Mr. Frank Hupfeld, opened the conference and in their welcoming words, emphasised the importance of such regular exchanges and a harmonious interaction between the two courts.
For Germany, the IRZ invited Mr. Winfried Schubert, President of the State Constitutional Court of Saxony-Anhalt and former President of the Higher Regional Court in Naumburg to take part in the event, who opened the conference with a keynote speech on the relationship between constitutional courts and supreme courts based on German experiences.
After introductory presentations by a judge from the Kosovo Constitutional Court and a judge from the Supreme Court, the participants debated intensively and sometimes controversially in three panel discussions about the principles, developments and challenges of the right to a fair trial with reference to case-law in Kosovo. In addition, Mr. Schubert highlighted the topics with respect to German practice and the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights.
The two-day expert discussions enabled the participants to benefit from the specialist knowledge and perspectives of their colleagues - flanked by German experiences - and to gain a deeper understanding of both the importance of the right to a fair trial and the fundamental competences and obligations of both courts in the application and interpretation of fundamental rights that are rooted in the constitution.
The event was funded by the Federal Foreign Office as part of the project “Support for several states in the Western Balkans in consolidating rule of law and European standards”. The exchange between the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Kosovo will continue with Albanian counterparts in autumn 2023 to promote dialogue and the exchange of best practices at a regional level.
Round table discussion on “Alternative measures and punishments in juvenile criminal law” in cooperation with the Kosovo probation service, 6 June 2023, Peja (Kosovo). Kosovo
The IRZ, in cooperation with the Kosovar probation service, again organised round tables this year on selected issues relating to alternative measures in juvenile criminal law - an ideal platform to promote expert exchanges and inter-institutional cooperation between the Kosovar probation service, the judges and the Public Prosecutor's Office and to raise awareness of the importance of alternative measures for the rehabilitation of young offenders.
The round table discussions took place on 5 June 2023 in Pristina and on 6 June 2023 in Peja with the participation of approx. 45 representatives from the three professional groups, and also from the penitentiary system, the legal profession and the board for conditional releases.
The discussions were supported and moderated by the German experts, Mr. Stefan Scherrer, Juvenile Court judge at the Göttingen Local Court, and Mr. Stefan Thier, Consultant for Social Services in the judiciary in the Ministry for Justice, Europe and Consumer Protection of the State of Schleswig-Holstein. They reported on proven approaches and solutions, experiences and challenges from German practice and their personal everyday activities.
The engaging and lively discussions focused on the individual challenges of imposing and implementing alternative measures and the role and responsibilities of the probation service. The talks focused on the cross-sector cooperation between the probation service, the judges and the Public Prosecutor's Office.
Although Kosovo's Juvenile Criminal Code specifies numerous diversionary and alternative measures, the number of alternative measures imposed by the courts remains very low at roughly 3.1%. The continuous exchange of expertise and experience between the various institutions in Kosovo, supported by the IRZ and accompanied by German expert teams, marks an important contribution in the aim of promoting alternative measures in Kosovo's juvenile criminal law.
The event was held as part of the project “Support for several states in the Western Balkans in consolidating rule-of-law and European standards” and was funded by the Federal Foreign Office. As part of this project, the IRZ is working with the Kosovar probation service and other representatives from the judiciary to bolster the rule of law structures and the implementation of European standards in Kosovo.
