Vol. 6, No.
3 - Summer 2003
NCSC Wins
Contract to Develop Kosovo Justice System
The
National Center's International Programs Division (IPD) recently was awarded
a five-year, multi-million dollar contract to help establish an effective
justice system in Kosovo. As part
of the contract, which was awarded by the U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID), IPD will work directly with USAID and the United Nations
Mission in Kosovo, as well as with others involved in implementing justice
programs.
The
project’s goals include:
-
Helping
Kosovars develop a vision and concrete action plans for their future system
of justice. These plans also
will coordinate efforts by serving as a framework in which all international
donors can work.
-
Assisting
in developing laws and policies to support an effective and impartial
justice system.
-
Developing
new operational procedures and systems in the courts, including the use of
automation in the administration, tracking, and management of cases.
-
Strengthening
the ability of the local court system to operate smoothly.
-
Developing
systems to provide effective oversight for judges, prosecutors, and lawyers
in areas of ethics and delivery of quality legal services.
-
Increasing
public awareness of Kosovo’s evolving legal framework and justice system
to improve access and to assure that individual and community rights are
respected.
The
National Center, which is working with three partners on this project, has
assembled a diverse team of professionals to serve as staff and long-term
technical advisors.
One
of the program’s main objectives is to help develop the Kosovars’ managerial
and professional abilities to the point they can take full responsibility of
their justice system, and once established, be able to sustain it as a fair,
impartial, and effective system.
Despite
the complexity of the current conditions in Kosovo, a lot has been learned from
previous work. The December 2001
Strategic Plan for Reform of the Judicial System in Kosovo and a related April
2002 report on the recommendations of judges, prosecutors, and advocates from
Kosovo. These reports show that significant areas of consensus exists among the
legal professionals in Kosovo—who agreed, for example, on the need for
increased judicial autonomy and improved distribution of laws and legal
materials in all languages in Kosovo (Albanian and Serbian)—even if they
remain unable to reach agreement on some of the basic organizational and
structural issues.
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