Increasing transparency and efficiency of judiciary institutions through improved court management and performance constitutes a priority of the Horizontal Facility actions working in the field of justice. In this context, the Council of Europe is providing its expertise and key methodologies to support the process of ensuring quality services for justice users in the region.

In Montenegro, authorities have initiated the revision of the Law on Judicial Council and Judges in 2019, with the aim to further strengthen judicial independence, accountability and efficiency, but also to address the issues arising in the practical implementation of this regulation, as noted in the European Commission’s reports on Montenegro and the Venice Commission’s opinions in 2022 and 2023. The European Union and the Council of Europe are supporting the new working group established in December 2023, by facilitating alignment with the Venice Commission’s recommendations and the Council of Europe standards.

In an effort to enhance the efficiency and quality of justice in five action’s pilot courts, a workshop was conducted to pilot the “Roadmap for implementation of the expert’s recommendations in pilot courts” in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the support of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ). Following the first needs assessments carried out in these pilot courts in 2023, recommendations linked to the efficiency and quality of services provided to users in these jurisdictions were presented.

In Albania, members of the first instance court councils, representatives of the High Court of Albania and of the High Judicial Council were part of the capacity building activity on CEPEJ tools on court efficiency and quality of justice, organised with the support of the European Union and the Council of Europe. A particular focus was put on the guide for a unified methodology for collection of the judicial data.