PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT ALBANIAN JUSTICE SECTOR STRENGTHENING PROJECT (JuST) August 30, 2015 This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared by Chemonics International Inc. The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT ALBANIAN JUSTICE SECTOR STRENGTHENING PROJECT (JuST) Contract No. 182-C-00-00105-00 Contracting and Agreement Officer: Tracy Sando Contracting Officer Representative: Elina Koçi Chief of Party: John Carver CONTENTS Acronyms ....................................................................................................................... i Executive Summary .......................................................................................................1 Component 1: Increased Court Transparency, Fairness, and Efficiency ......................7 More Accurate Trial Records Through Digital Audio Recording ...............................9 Improved Court Management Leading to More Transparent and Efficient Court Operations, Including Court Hearings that are More Open to the Public .................. 24 Mediation as an Alternative for Dispute Resolution .................................................. 28 Implementation Challenges Faced and Lessons Learned ........................................... 30 Component 2: Strengthened Civic Engagement to Help Stem Government and Justice Sector Corruption ............................................................................................35 Capacity Development for the Judges’ Association ..................................................35 Justice and Good Governance Grants Program ......................................................... 37 Capacity Development for Civil Society Organizations ........................................... 42 Strengthened Role of Media in Reporting Corruption Cases ....................................44 Establish and Maintain an Independent Venue for Investigative Journalists to Publish .................................................................................................................. 47 Implementation Challenges Faced and Lessons Learned ........................................... 48 Component 3: Strengthened Legal Profession ............................................................52 More Professional Lawyers: Continuing Legal Education Program .........................52 Better-Qualified Law School Graduates: Clinical Legal Education Program ........... 60 Implementation Challenges Faced and Lessons Learned ........................................... 66 Annexes Annex A. Results of Active Case Management ..................................................... A-1 Annex B. Grants Table ............................................................................................ B-1 Annex C. Communications Summary .................................................................... C-1 Annex D. Success Stories ....................................................................................... D-1 Annex E. Final Performance Monitoring Plan ......................................................... E-1 Annex F. Index of Reports and Information Products Produced .............................. F-1 ACRONYMS AJJ Association of Journalists for Justice CLCI Center for Legal and Civic Initiatives CLE continuing legal education CSO civil society organization DAR digital audio recording EU European Union HCJ High Council of Justice IAJ International Association of Judges ICMIS integrated case management information system IT information technology JuST Albanian Justice Sector Strengthening Project LSFJ Law School for Journalists NCA National Chambers of Advocates NCM National Chamber of Mediators NSA National School of Advocates OSCE Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe PAKS Automated Calendar Management System UAJ Union of Albanian Judges UTLF University of Tirana Law Faculty EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Chemonics International is pleased to present this project completion report, summarizing the work and the results of the USAID-funded multifaceted, five-year, $9,750,298 Albanian Justice Sector Strengthening Project (JuST). JuST focused on advancing U.S. objectives in strengthening the rule of law and good governance in Albania, with an emphasis on improving justice delivery and increasing public demand for accountability in the justice sector. Albania is now well into its third decade of transition from communist rule to democratic governance. A powerful incentive driving this transition is the hope that one day Albania will be welcomed into the European Union (EU), ushering in a new age of rising prosperity and political stability. Prosperity and economic growth cannot thrive in an environment where the judiciary is perceived to favor powerful interests over the impartial application of law. JuST worked in three components to assist Albania in improving the environment of the justice sector, all of which focused on strengthening democratic institutions and establishing a rule-of-law culture. The first component engaged with courts and government institutions and sought to increase court transparency, fairness, and efficiency in the judicial system. The second component promoted civic engagement at the grassroots level to hold government institutions accountable. An important element of this civic engagement strategy was to strengthen the skills and ensure the independence of investigative journalists — a critical component in fighting corruption and improving performance among government institutions. The third component focused on justice system practitioners and was designed to improve legal training and education not only for law students, but also for practicing attorneys. Exhibit 1. Direct Support to Albanian Citizens JuST PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT 1 Summary of Key Results, Component 1 – Court Transparency, Fairness, and Efficiency DIGITAL AUDIO RECORDING • Installed digital audio recording (DAR) equipment in all 38 courts in Albania, (including the new administrative courts) totaling 160 courtrooms. • Digital audio recordings are now the official record, the recognized standard for accurate trial records. The Civil Procedure Code was amended to reflect this new reality. A unifying decision by the High Court in April 2015 removed all doubts about the status of audio recording in criminal trials. • The project installed a central record archive for audio recording files in Tirana and connected and configured all courts for nightly back-ups of mission-critical data. • Following the successful deployment of the central record archive for audio recordings, all judicial inspectors were trained on how to access court recordings from their office computers. • The number of court hearings audio recorded continues to rise, with 15 courts now exceeding the 90 percent threshold. COURT MANAGEMENT • The Court Calendar Management Application (PAKS+) was created and installed in the 35 Albanian courts using an integrated case management information system (ICMIS). • In cooperation with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), USAID’s JuST project supported two pilot courts to demonstrate the application of “active case management” to reduce court delay and improve court efficiency in Kruja and Korcë. As the positive results became known, two more courts (Tropoja and Pukë) adopted similar techniques with equally positive results. COURTS AND CITIZENS • USAID’S JuST project carried out several nationwide public-awareness campaigns on digital audio recording and the rights of citizens to obtain copies of these recordings. • The project supported renovation of public information offices in three courts — Kavaja, Kurbin, and Pogradec — and worked with an international public service and information area expert to produce a set of standards to guide future projects, reinforcing an architectural and service standard for future courts. MEDIATION AS ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION • JuST implemented mediation programs in five courts — Durres, Korca, Gjirokaster, Permet, and Saranda — with 1,084 cases mediated nationwide and 868 resolved through the mediation process. • The team prepared initial and advanced training curricula on commercial and family mediation and implemented several awareness campaigns on alternative dispute resolution. • The project supported establishment and organizational strengthening of the National Chamber of Mediators (NCM). 2 JuST PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT Summary of Key Results, Component 2 – Civic Engagement UNION OF ALBANIAN JUDGES • Support to the Union of Albanian Judges (UAJ) has brought the organization international recognition, contributed to its sustainability and membership growth, and facilitated its active engagement in key policy issues for the independence of the judiciary. INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM • JuST helped establish the Association of Journalists for Justice (AJJ), an organization dedicated to investigative reporting and tackling a series of issues in many Albanian government institutions. It supported the AJJ in partnering with the more-established investigative reporting centers in the region. • The project helped establish an independent media venue, www.investigim.al, to publish investigative reports (written and video) uncovering corruption. To date, 63 corruption-related cases have been published.38 journalism students are