JUDICIAL DEVELOPMENT DIVISION

(Last updated on 9 February 2004)

For more details on Judicial Development Division go to the full version of the Pillar I Report.

Background

The Judicial Development Division (JDD) has the broad mandate of fostering a professional, independent, impartial and multi-ethnic judiciary and prosecution service.

When UNMIK arrived in Kosovo in June 1999, there was no court system in place. Over the summer, 55 judges and prosecutors were appointed on short term, 3-month contracts to what was known as the Emergency Judicial System. Today, there are 374 judges and prosecutors whose terms of office run until the end of the UN Mission in Kosovo. These judges and prosecutors are deployed throughout Kosovo and work in 55 judicial institutions, supported by some 1300 local staff. Institutionally, there has been considerable progress in the reconstruction of a local justice system. Having been largely successful in its work of rebuilding judicial institutions, the JDD has begun to focus on its final goal, the creation of a professional, independent, impartial and self-supporting multi-ethnic judiciary.

Organization

The JDD consists of:

Ø The Professional Development Section,
Ø The Judicial Integration Section,
Ø The Judicial Inspection Unit, and
Ø The Victim Assistance and Advocacy Unit.

Additionally, the JDD is responsible for conducting disciplinary proceedings against judges and prosecutors in cases of misconduct, providing secretarial support to the Kosovo Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (KJPC), an independent body responsible for recommending the appointment and removal of judges and prosecutors to the SRSG, and, upon request, advising the SRSG on matters affecting the justice system.

Professional Development Section (PDS)

The PDS provides the Kosovo Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (KJPC) with secretarial, administrative and operational assistance for its varied and increasing responsibilities. It also works to enhance judicial and prosecutorial professionalism and assists in the establishment and maintenance of transparent recruitment procedures through, among other things, the development of a new public examination for judges and prosecutors.

In order to facilitate the eventual phasing out of international judges and prosecutors, much work still has to be done to develop a fully professional, independent, impartial and ethnically integrated local judiciary. A major component of this effort is the establishment of a new system for the selection of judges and prosecutors, which would include the establishment of a special school for candidates for these professions who have passed a written and oral examination. The PDS is currently working to develop local capacity for the KJPC Secretariat in order to hand over Secretariat responsibilities to local staff as soon as feasible.

Judicial Integration Section (JIS)

The Secretary-General has called for increasing multi-ethnic participation in the local judiciary and taking action against ethnic bias in order to achieve the ultimate goal of an unbiased local judiciary. The repeated attempts of the Department of Justice to fulfill this portion of the mandate have met with limited success. Out of 374 judges and prosecutors presently working in the Kosovo courts, there are only eighteen (18) Serbs and twenty (20) members from the non-Serb minority ethnic groups.

In the UNMIK/FRY Common Document, UNMIK committed to creating a multi-ethnic judiciary that will enjoy the trust of all communities and agreed to the immediate consideration for appointment of Kosovo Serb judges and prosecutors. Additionally, the Constitutional Framework requires the membership of the Kosovo judiciary to reflect the diversity of the people of Kosovo.

The JIS is tasked with increasing minority participation in the judiciary and prosecution service, ensuring access to justice for minorities and tracking the treatment of minorities by the justice system.

Currently, the section is focusing on encouraging candidates from ethnic minorities to apply for posts within the Kosovo judiciary, prosecution service and court support staff structure, and facilitating the application process for minorities. On 9 July 2002 a Joint Declaration was signed between the Deputy SRSG for Police and Justice and the Serbian Minister of Justice to promote development of a multi-ethnic justice system by making provisions to facilitate the integration of Kosovo Serbs into the Kosovo judicial and prosecutorial services.

The Kosovo Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (KJPC) has been appointed as an independent body responsible for recommending candidates for appointment to the judicial and prosecutorial service.

An important issue addressed by JIS is access to justice for minorities who still do not enjoy freedom of movement due to security considerations. The division is working on solutions that will allow targeted minority communities to gain access to Municipal and Minor Offences courts by opening minor offence courts in the enclaves or by providing shuttle service for minorities to courts located in larger towns.

Ø The Court Liaison Office (CLO) has been established in the Serbian enclave of Gracanica in order to facilitate access to courts for minority community members living in Gracanica and surrounding villages. Currently three (3) Court Liaison Officers (CLOs) are employed. Their main functions are to offer advice and to provide liaison between the people of Gracanica and the courts in Pristina. There is a shuttle service (free of charge) bringing citizens, accompanied by the CLOs, from Gracanica to the various courts in Pristina. Although launched as a temporary project, following its outstanding success it was recently established as a permanent entity. Plans for the expansion of the CLO's responsibilities through the creation of additional branches are under consideration.

Judicial Inspection Unit (JIU)

The JIU is primarily responsible for conducting investigations of misconduct committed by the sitting judges, prosecutors and lay judges on its own initiative or upon request. After having completed an investigation, if there is sufficient evidence of misconduct, the Department of Justice submits the final JIU investigation report to the Kosovo Judicial and Prosecutorial Council and the JIU presents the case during a disciplinary hearing before the Council on behalf of the Department of Justice.

The JIU mandate also includes assessing the functioning of the courts and public prosecutors' offices and suggesting needed improvements thereto. However, due to the lack of sufficient staff, the fulfillment of this important objective has been impeded.

The ultimate aim of JIU is toward a sustainable capacity-building approach, which will permit Kosovars to take full responsibility for the Unit as the international component leaves the region.

Victim Assistance and Advocacy Unit (VAAU)

The mandate of VAAU is to integrate and institutionalize the rights and interests of victims of crime into the Kosovo judicial system, and to create a framework for providing them with comprehensive and meaningful assistance and services which will be accessible to all victims, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, race, political, economic or social status. Such services include legal services, emergency, interim, and long-term shelter services, psychosocial assistance, medical assistance, and financial compensation.

Victim participation is crucial to investigations and prosecutions of criminal cases. In Kosovo, this is a key aspect of fighting organized crime. Indeed, many cases do not proceed beyond the pre-investigation, investigation or prosecution phases due to the lack of participation of witnesses who are threatened, intimidated and even killed. Moreover, there are no existing assistance and support services to encourage and ensure victims' participation.

The VAAU seeks to address the manifold needs of victims and fill the existing legislative and structural gaps, in order to ensure that victims are supported and encouraged to participate in the judicial process. The VAAU's multifaceted approach to the victim issue includes policy and legislative advice and advocacy, victim advocacy and training, victim assistance and support services, and referral and resource development services.

Ø On 16 June 2003 Pillar I opened an Interim Secure Facility (ISF) in Pristina that provides interim accommodation and assistance services to victims of trafficking in persons. Besides protection to victims the shelter provides a range of assistance services, including accommodation, counseling, legal information and advice, medical care, including gynaecological and reproductive health care. The shelter also provides victims with an opportunity to reflect on the options available to them in a non-pressured environment as well as offer opportunities to acquire a range of skills, including basic computer knowledge, self-presentation, sewing, art, effective communication, language, first aid and hospitality skills. The shelter has a capacity to accommodate up to thirty individuals. It is managed by the VAAU and has been established with financial support from the OSCE, through a voluntary grant to the organization from the US government and donations from individuals and organizations in Kosovo.