USAID’S JUSTICE SYSTEM STRENGTHENING PROGRAM is promoting the rule of law in Kosovo by improving the judiciary’s efficiency, accountability, and professionalism. This is a four-year program (November 2015 - 2019) and focuses on promoting a judicial system that adheres to high standards of independence, impartiality, integrity, accountability, and transparency, and on supporting the functioning and integration of judicial structures in the north. 

Publication of Final Judgments is supported by USAID’s push for greater transparency. The commitment by courts to increase the number of decisions made public has resulted in almost 8,000 decisions being posted on-line.

Mandatory Continuing Learning Education Enforcement 

• Efforts to increase accountability and integrity has resulted in mandatory continued legal education for all judges of Kosovo.
• A total of 301 judges (88% of all Kosovo judges) attended 2018 MCLE on judicial ethics.
• 263 were Kosovar Albanian, 34 Kosovar Serbian and 4 from other non-majority communities

Backlog reduction teams have helped Kosovo’s Basic Courts decrease backlogged cases (those over 2 years old). The set of 39,458 civil and criminal cases backlogged as of Dec. 31, 2015 has been reduced to 11,553 cases, resolving more

Civil case screening inspects the completeness of case filings, including payment of fees, before referring these to judges for adjudication, so that their time is not wasted. USAID activity is implementing this mechanism in Pristina and Gjakova Basic Courts, and at branches in Podujeva, Rahovec and Malisheva.

• 4243 cases screened 
• 2216 no court fees paid

81480 - FINANCIAL RECOVERY OF COURT FEES 

Case Clearance Rate The clearance rate reflects the ratio between the number of cases filed, and the number disposed of in a given period. A rate over 100% means courts are “catching up” on older cases, as well as managing their current load. Between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, 2018, the average clearance rate for all case types, including Minor Offences, across all Basic Courts reached 166.79%.

Training of Judicial and non-judicial staff
947 participants 
815 Kosovar Albanian
523 male
123 Kosovar Serbian
8 Kosovar Bosnian
1 Roma Ashkali Egyptian