Justice for All Project in Albania: Quarterly Report – 1 January – 31 March 2020

The project is implemented by the East-West Management Institute, Inc., under the USAID Contract Number AID-OAA-I-13-0035 / AID-182-TO-16-00001. The project focuses on two main components: Streamlined, Expeditious, and Transparent Court Proceedings, and Investigative Journalism. The first component aims to improve the efficiency and transparency of court proceedings, while the second component seeks to promote investigative journalism and expose corruption. Under Component 1, the project has made significant progress in collecting data for the Justice without Delay (JWD) National Study Report. Data collection was completed for 13 out of 22 district courts, including Dibra, Elbasan, Gjirokastra, Korca, Kurbin, Pogradec, Permet, Saranda, Shkodra, and Tropoja. The data collected includes information on civil and criminal cases, with a total of 1,044 civil cases and 1,444 criminal cases. The project also conducted training of trainers for Albanian Forum of Women Judges members for the Gender Studies Program, completed two Court Administration Program Faculty Development Sessions, and conducted training sessions for Faktoje on data journalism, the right to know, and fact-checking justice institutions. In addition, the project supported the Albanian Helsinki Committee in publishing an awareness-raising video on journalists' rights at the workplace and a revised version of the manual for labor rights for journalists. The project also cooperated with the Social Contract Institute to record and publish 10 podcasts on the elimination of gender discriminations in media. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some deliverables were not completed during this quarter, including the third Tirana-based capacity building event for University of Tirana Department of Journalism faculty, an exchange visit for seven University of Tirana Department of Journalism faculty to De Montfort University in the UK, and the final event and roundtable to be hosted by the Albanian Helsinki Committee on the topic of labor rights for journalists. The project has made significant progress in promoting investigative journalism and exposing corruption. The Balkan Investigative Report Network (BIRN) has been established, and Faktoje has become a signatory member of the International Fact Checking Network (IFCN). The project has also conducted training sessions for Faktoje's management team on grant acquisitions, staff management, and networking. The project has also made progress in promoting transparency and accountability in the justice system. The High Judicial Council (HJC) has established a new temporary website, and the project has created a judicial map application. The project has also supported the Albanian Forum of Women Judges in electing new leadership and finalizing its JFA grant proposal. Overall, the Justice for All Project in Albania has made significant progress in promoting justice, transparency, and accountability in the justice system. The project has implemented various activities to improve the efficiency and transparency of court proceedings, promote investigative journalism, and expose corruption.