EU and the Council of Europe are continuing to assist local actors in Kosovo* in their efforts to improve the day-to-day functioning of the justice system by strengthening its efficiency and quality in accordance with European standards.

In this framework on 3 September 2020, the CEPEJ international expert Mr Thierry Ghera, President of the Court of Strasbourg, presented to Mr Skender Çocaj, Chairman of the Kosovo Judicial Council, the benefits of issuing court summons electronically. Mr Ghera presented the French system in which all documents in civil proceedings are exchanged electronically between courts and lawyers through the e-Barreau platform since 2004.

The Kosovo Judicial Council (KJC) Court Administration Committee recommends using electronic summonses, in particular to reduce the costs arising from the delivery of summonses by post. Moreover, standard summonses can be generated through the case management information system (CMIS) by the legal officer in each judge’s office. The KJC will therefore discuss internally in the coming days the possible implementation of this system and will consult with the Bar Association to facilitate, on a longer term, the communication between courts and lawyers.

This activity was organised by the KoSEJ II Action “Strengthening the Quality and Efficiency of Justice in Kosovo”, which is part of the programme entitled "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.

• More about the Programme 

* 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".