Albanian Justice Sector Strengthening Project (JuST) Quarterly Report for January – March 2014

The project, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), focuses on increasing court transparency, fairness, and efficiency, strengthening civic engagement to combat corruption, and enhancing the legal profession. One of the key objectives of the project is to increase court transparency and efficiency through the implementation of digital audio recording technology. By the end of the second quarter of the fourth year, digital audio recording equipment and training had been provided to 25 courts and 112 courtrooms. The project team also organized the fourth Regional Court Leadership Conference, which brought together over 100 judges, secretaries, chancellors, and IT specialists from the Vlora Appellate District. The Minister of Justice, Deputy Chair of the High Council of Justice, and U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission attended the conference and expressed their support for the changes taking place in Albanian courts. The project team also launched a public awareness campaign on digital audio recording, which included "Open Court" days in every court where the technology had been installed. The campaign aimed to educate the public about court operations and their right to obtain a verbatim record of court hearings. In addition to digital audio recording, the project is also working to improve court management practices and reduce case backlogs. The project team is providing technical assistance to promote greater use of public courtrooms and assistance to selected pilot courts to introduce and expand the use of mediation for resolving commercial and family law disputes. The project is also focused on strengthening civic engagement to combat corruption. The project team is working with civil society organizations and the media to promote accountability and transparency in the justice sector. This includes capacity development for the Union of Albanian Judges, a Justice and Good Governance CSO Grants Program, and a Justice Reporting Fellows program to train and support investigative journalists. The project is also working to strengthen the legal profession and legal education. The project team is developing and implementing a Continued Legal Education (CLE) program, establishing a Bar Journal with the National Chamber of Advocates, and launching a Clinical Legal Education Program. The project is also providing students with exposure to professional internship opportunities. Overall, the Albanian Justice Sector Strengthening Project is making significant progress in improving the justice delivery system in Albania. The project's focus on increasing court transparency, fairness, and efficiency, strengthening civic engagement, and enhancing the legal profession is critical to achieving the project's overall goal of improving justice delivery and increasing public demand for accountability in the justice sector.