The First Steering Committee meeting of the “Strengthening the quality and efficiency of justice in Kosovo” (KoSEJ II) Action took place on 11 September 2019 at the Council of Europe Office in Pristina.

Members and observers had the opportunity to discuss thoroughly key aspects of the Action following the KoSEJ recommendations and made concrete proposals for 2019-2023. They stressed the importance of flexibility given the forthcoming elections (October 2019) and the Functional Review of the Justice Sector which is working along the lines of the CEPEJ findings.

The Steering Committee stressed the importance of working on synergies with key partners including USAID and the future EU Justice Sector Programme to fine tune KoSEJ II activities. These will focus notably on institutionalising the CEPEJ methodology for judicial statistics, the implementation of court coaching projects to improve length of proceedings, the case management system and assisting a new beneficiary: the Kosovo Justice Academy. Civil society was present and was met more thoroughly subsequently to discuss potential co-operation. Bilateral meetings with the Secretary General of the Ministry of Justice and the Deputy Chair of the Kosovo Judicial Council also confirmed the scoping of the KoSEJ II.

The Steering Committee Meeting was organised by the KoSEJ II Action “Strengthening the quality and efficiency of justice in Kosovo*”, which is part of the second phase of the programme "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey", co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.

*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.