Albanian Justice Sector Strengthening Project (JuST) Quarterly Report for April – June, 2011

The project is part of the ongoing U.S. support to the rule of law and good governance in Albania, with an emphasis on improving justice delivery and increasing public demand for accountability in the justice sector. During the third quarter of the project, significant advances were made in various areas. One mediation program became fully operational, and another was launched. Technical specifications necessary for preparing a procurement of audio recording equipment were completed. The grants program designed to strengthen the capacity of civil society organizations was launched. Implementation plans for establishing Continuing Legal Education (CLE) were finalized, as was a plan to support a clinical legal program in the Tirana Law Faculty. The project works in three broad and inter-related areas. First, it aims to increase court transparency, fairness, and efficiency by working with justice sector institutions. Second, it seeks to promote accountability from the "grass roots" level by bolstering the watchdog and anticorruption roles of civil society organizations and the media. Third, it works to strengthen the legal profession and legal education in Albania by recognizing the importance of well-trained professionals. Component 1 of the project addresses court operations through a number of strategies designed to address the lack of transparency and organizational deficiencies that continue to impede the ability of the Albanian judiciary to implement meaningful reform. Intervention results include more accurate trial records, more efficiently-run courts that are more open to the public, and reduced case backlogs. JuST is advancing these objectives through direct support to the courts in establishing systems for producing and making available verbatim records of legal proceedings, technical assistance to promote greater use of public courtrooms for the public benefit, and assistance to three pilot courts to introduce and expand the use of mediation for resolving commercial and family law disputes. Significant progress was made during the quarter in the field of court-connected mediation. A high-level multi-donor public event was held in the auditorium of the Ministry of Justice to commemorate the successful completion of the International Finance Corporation's support of the mediation program in the Durrës District Court, and the launching of an expanded mediation program supported by USAID/JuST. Press coverage was extensive, and the ceremony concluded with the signing of a three-party Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) among the Durrës District Court, the JuST Project on behalf of USAID, and the Albanian Foundation for Conflict Resolution (AFCR). Component 2 of the project seeks to strengthen civic engagement to help stem governmental and justice sector corruption. This is achieved through assessing and designing capacity development plans for judges associations, civil society organizations, and journalists. The project has initiated and completed a number of tasks, including assessing and designing capacity development plans for judges associations and civil society organizations, developing and delivering a training program for journalists, and launching a grants program to strengthen the capacity of civil society organizations. Component 3 of the project aims to strengthen the legal profession by establishing the Bar Journal, convening a National Conference of Lawyers, developing and implementing a Continuing Legal Education (CLE) program, creating and implementing a work plan with the Magistrates School of cataloging Supreme Court decisions and ratified conventions, establishing and implementing an Assistance Plan for the Law Clinic, and creating clinical opportunities for law students in select state and private institutions. Significant progress was made during the quarter, including the ceremonial signing of a Memorandum of Understanding establishing Continuing Legal Education (CLE) and the launch of the "JuST Forum," an online platform to encourage collaboration among civil society organizations and to facilitate communications between JuST and the NGO community.