USAID/Macedonia Judicial Strengthening Project Monthly Report: August 2012

The project assists selected legal professional associations (LPAs) and civil society organizations (CSOs) to provide better services to and advocate for the interests of their members. The JSP has been focusing on assessing and strengthening the capacity of the selected organizations. A short, focused assessment, baseline survey, and resulting action plan on judicial-sector professional associations and civil society organizations, and the role they can play in strengthening the rule-of-law area in Macedonia was conducted earlier in the project. Three organizations were selected for phase II of the assessment: the Macedonian Judges Association (MJA), the Macedonian Young Lawyers Association (MYLA), and the Court Administration Association (CAA). Phase II of the assessment involved a performance organizational assessment of the three selected organizations to identify performance gaps and recommend training and technical assistance packages customized to their needs. The JSP team then initiated phase III of the capacity building initiative, which includes activities specifically designed to enhance the capacity of the selected organizations in accordance with the proposed action plan. The project continued to engage LPAs and CSOs, including those not selected for targeted capacity-building training. The USAID Civil Society Project (CSP) awarded one-year grants to two JSP partner organizations: Coalition All for Fair Trials and the Macedonian Young Lawyers Association (MYLA). These two organizations were selected out of 175 applications. The JSP also discussed possible dates for two remaining public discussions with the president of the Macedonian Judges Association (MJA). A discussion on the implementation of the Law on Civil Procedure is being organized for the end of September 2012. The remaining public discussion for this year will cover commercial law and will be organized after the completion of the "Needs Assessment Training for Commercial Judges and Lawyers" this fall. The Court Administration Association (CAA) is a relatively new organization with approximately 1,200 members, comprised of court employees. The CAA was chosen as one of the three organizations in need of assistance to strengthen and build institutional capacity. The CAA has a dynamic leadership and the institutional resolve to help build the Macedonian judiciary into a model for the region. The JSP also continued a series of discussion groups at the request of the MJA. The goal is to encourage the judiciary to be proactive in proposing laws and amendments, and in opposing laws compromising judicial independence and efficiency. Through roundtables and forums, amendments will be recommended and harmonization encouraged. Advocacy efforts to implement changes in the laws or to defeat laws that have a negative impact on the judiciary, the rule of law, or the independence of the judiciary will be stimulated by these activities. The JSP has planned two roundtables to discuss and assess the progress of reforms in Macedonia for this fall. The targeted audience for one of the roundtables will be judicial sector actors, including president judges and representatives of the administration and management of the courts. The other roundtable will be targeted at CSOs, including reform-minded NGOs and LPAs, lawyers, academics, and other reform-minded individuals. Networking and collaboration will be encouraged among the participants for further activities. The project will complete the evaluation of the technical and cost proposals for the RFP issued in August by September 15, 2012. The contract with the selected bidder will be signed on or about September 20, 2012.