2015 National Survey on Usage of Written Contracts

The program, implemented by Checchi and Company Consulting Inc., focuses on improving access to the judicial system for citizens and businesses to enforce contracts and court judgments in a timely and just manner. The program supports Kosovo's court system, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Trade and Industry to eliminate unenforced judgments, implement the Private Enforcement Agent system, and expand mediation mechanisms. Businesses in Kosovo still face challenges using written contracts with their suppliers, employees, clients, and business partners. The combination of low confidence in the rule of law and justice system in Kosovo, and a tradition of relying on oral agreements, results in practical problems, particularly related to dispute resolution. To address these challenges, the CLE Program conducted a national survey on the usage of written contracts in 2015. The survey, which included a quantitative component with 900 businesses across all regions of Kosovo and three focus groups, aimed to measure the increase in the regular use of written contracts by the Kosovo business community and gauge the impact of USAID Program activities encouraging greater usage of written contracts. The results of the survey are compared to the 2011 National Survey on Written Contracts and the 2014 National Survey on Usage of Written Contracts. The survey results show a substantial increase in the frequency of contract usage by the business community in Kosovo compared to the 2011 survey. The frequency of contract usage increased by 14.72% compared to the 2011 Survey and by 10.72% from the 2014 Survey. A majority of the surveyed businesses, 81.72%, use written contracts for their business transactions. The types of contracts that are most used by businesses are Employment Contracts, Rent/Lease Contracts, Supply Contracts, License Contracts, Contracts for use of goods and services, Partnership Contracts, Authorization Contracts, and Transportation Contracts. The industry sectors that are most likely to use written contracts are Financial Intermediation, Transport, Storage and Communication, Education, Hotels and Restaurants, and Health and Social Work. In contrast, the industry sectors least likely to enter into written contracts are Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing, and Manufacturing. The survey also found that businesses mostly use written contracts for Employment and Supply of Services/Goods and Rent of facilities/equipments, while they are least used with Clients and Business Partners. The survey results indicate a notable positive shift in the frequency of the business community's usage of written contracts and attitudes towards entering into written contracts. The data suggest that the CLE Program's activities have had a positive impact on promoting the use of written contracts among businesses in Kosovo.