Back Support to local authorities in the Western Balkans to ensure independent justice

(shutterstock)

(shutterstock)

The actions of the Horizontal Facility II have continued to provide assistance and expertise to the local authorities in the Western Balkans in their reforms in the justice system and support efforts to improve the efficiency of justice provided to citizens, in accordance with European standards.

In Serbia, the Horizontal Facility II programme supported the development of the Analysis of systems of confidential counselling on ethical matters for judges and for public prosecutors, which was presented to the Members of the Ethics Committees of the Serbian High Judicial Council and the State Prosecutorial Council. The Analysis provides a set of recommendations for policymakers on steps to be taken to introduce confidential counselling into Serbian judiciary. The key issues addressed by the Analysis concern: the positioning of the confidential counselling mechanism within the judiciary, the composition and appointment procedure of confidential counsellors, methods of work and the role of already existing Ethics Committees etc.

In the field of justice, the Kosovo Judicial Council announced that new statistical reports are now available in the courts and can be used by all judges and court presidents to monitor the performance, court backlogs, postponements of hearings, and the length of court proceedings. The statistical reports designed with the assistance of the Horizontal Facility II programme, will be used in Kosovo* courts and will help increase the efficiency and transparency in the justice system.

In Montenegro nine counselling visits were organised to basic courts in Niksic, Bar, Berane, Pljevlja, Cetinje, Herceg Novi, Plav, Rozaje and Ulcinj, to facilitate and improve discussion between the Commission members and judges on different ethical dilemmas pertinent to judicial professions. During the visits, the implementation of the Code of Ethics of Judges was discussed which was developed under the previous phase of the Horizontal Facility programme.

In addition to the expertise and knowledge offered to the Macedonian authorities in enhancing the efficiency, quality and accessibility of free legal aid in North Macedonia, a server was donated to the Ministry of Justice. It will assist the local authorities in their efforts towards a more efficient management of free legal aid cases and thus will contribute to improving the access to higher quality free legal aid services for the citizens of North Macedonia.

The Horizontal Facility II programme will continue to assist key beneficiaries in the region in the field of justice, to further strengthen their co-operation in achieving a more efficient and independent judiciary.

 

 

*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.

Western Balkans July - September 2021
  • Diminuer la taille du texte
  • Augmenter la taille du texte
  • Imprimer la page