The Performance Dashboard, introduced by USAID’s Justice System Strengthening Program and the Kosovo Judicial Council, is a groundbreaking advancement in judicial transparency.  For too long, Kosovo’s justice system was not transparent with the public about court performance.  This undercut public trust, despite steps taken by the judiciary to increase judicial transparency and accountability.  The online dashboard opens a window into court operations by making performance data available online for public scrutiny.

“Transparency, accountability, and continuous information on court performance are the key principles of our work,” says Nikolle Komoni, President of the Gjakova Basic Court.  The recently developed Performance Dashboard, which resides on the Kosovo Judicial Council and court websites, provides easy-to-read graphs and tables that visualize court and judge performance data, including monthly productivity statistics, the number of cases received and resolved per quarter, case backlog, and performance trends over three years.

Many Kosovo organizations and researchers have already highlighted the dashboard’s value in their efforts to monitor corruption, organized crime, and money laundering in Kosovo’s judicial system.  According to Ehat Miftaraj, the director of the local non-governmental organization Kosovo Law Institute, “The Performance Dashboard is a sweeping change that demonstrates the judicial system’s willingness to become more accessible and accountable to the public.  It increases access to data critical to civil society for judicial system monitoring.  Previously, [we had] to submit written requests to the Judicial Council for data that is now instantly accessible on the dashboard.  A significant number of our reports have already been drafted using data from the platform.” 

The USAID Justice System Strengthening Program was a five-year program that advanced the rule of law in Kosovo.  The program officially ended on November 22, 2020, and left a legacy that helps to ensure the justice system operates in a professional, efficient, and accountable manner.