Midline Study Report: Commercial Justice Activity

in December 2021. The report is the second in a series of three studies planned to be conducted over the life of USAID's Commercial Justice Program. The study aims to establish information regarding the knowledge, experience, and attitude of businesses with respect to Kosovo's commercial justice system and institutions and its alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms. The report highlights significant improvement over baseline in some areas, such as the increased use of contracts and ADR clauses in contracts. However, moderate improvement is observed in other areas, including overall trust in commercial justice institutions. Inconclusive results are found in levels of satisfaction for use of ADR institutions, while a marked decline in the level of satisfaction for users of court services is attributed to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study employed several data collection methods, including a survey with 235 business representatives, a focus group with businesses that had experience with commercial justice institutions in Kosovo, and data collected by the program from users of services from arbitration institutions. The survey included a variety of closed and open-ended questions aimed at collecting feedback on the knowledge, experience, and attitude of businesses with respect to commercial justice. The report is structured into several sections, including the Methodology section, which highlights the method by which data was collected and the study's limitations. The Main Findings section presents findings by topic area, each indicated with a numbered heading. Relevant findings within each topic area are listed and expressed reflecting the different data collection methods used. The study found that significantly more businesses now use contracts and ADR clauses in their contracts. However, businesses show only a moderate improvement in overall trust in commercial justice institutions. Inconclusive results are found in levels of satisfaction for use of ADR institutions, while a marked decline in the level of satisfaction for users of court services is attributed to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report also highlights strong overall support for greater participation of women in commercial justice. The study's findings will be useful for designing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating programs with respect to commercial justice and ADR. However, the results presented herein are only indicative due to resource limitations. The study's methodology took into account lessons learned from conducting the Baseline Assessment and retained key questions to enable tracking of progress over time during program implementation. The data presented in the report are based on several quantitative and qualitative data collection methods, including a survey with 235 business representatives, a focus group with businesses that had experience with commercial justice institutions in Kosovo, and data collected by the program from users of services from arbitration institutions. Overall, the report provides valuable insights into the knowledge, experience, and attitude of businesses with respect to Kosovo's commercial justice system and institutions and its alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms. The study's findings will be useful for designing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating programs with respect to commercial justice and ADR.