20 YEARs OF pARTnERsHIpINRULEOFLAW

dEvELOpInG A LEGIsLATIvE FRAMEWORK

• Between1992-1996,USAIDsupportedAlbania’sinitialconstitutiondraftingefforts,andotherimportantlegislationsuchastheCriminalandCivilCodes,andCriminalandCivilProcedureCodes.

• In1998,USAID’seffortswerevitaltore-draftAlbania’sconstitutionandgarnerpublicsupportforitspassagethroughanextensivevoterawarenesscampaign.

• AnimportantearlyachievementwasthedistributionofAlbanianlegalcodestojudges,prosecutors,andattorneystocorrectthelackofaccesstoAlbanianlaw.From1995-97,morethan10,000copiesofcivilandcriminalcodesweredisseminated.In1997,USAIDalsohelpedestablishalawlibraryattheSupremeCourt,opentoallmembersofthelegalcommunity.

sTREnGTHEnInG THE RULE OF LAW

• In2004-2007,USAIDsupportedtheOmbudsmanandprovidedtrainingtoofficials,civicwatchdogs,andthemediaontheFree-domofInformationlaw.

• In2004,USAIDdraftedtheLawontheConflictofInterest.Inthefirstyearafterthepassageofthelawin2005,morethan135conflictofinterestcaseswereresolved.

• TheHighInspectoratefortheDeclarationandAuditofAssets(HIDAA)wascreatedin2003withUSAIDsupport.USAID’sas-sistancetoHIDAAresultedinthestrengtheningofthatinstitution’sroleasenforceroftheassetdisclosureandconflictofinterestlaws.

• In2007,USAIDbeganathree-yearprogramthatintroducedac-countabilitymeasuresin10pilotcourtsinordertohelpcourtsmeetstandardsforgoodjudicialpractice.Suchmeasuresincludedpublica-tionofcourtdecisions,audiorecordsofcourthearings,computer-izedcasemanagement.USAID,incooperationwithOSCE,alsosup-portedtheopeningofPublicInformationOfficesintheGjirokastraandTiranaAppellateCourtsandtheMatDistrictCourt.

MOdERnIZInG ALBAnIA’s cOURT sYsTEM

• USAIDwillprovidedirectsupporttoallAlbaniancourtstotakeadvantageofdigitalaudiorecordingtechnologyforproducingandmakingavailableverbatimrecordsoflegalproceedings.

• USAIDwillofferassistancetoimprovecasemanagementpracticesandpro-motegreateruseofpubliccourtrooms.

• USAIDwillintroduceandexpandtheuseofmediationforresolvingcom-mercialandfamilylawdisputesinthreepilotcourts.

sUppORTInG cITIZEn EFFORTs TO FIGHT cORRUpTIOn • In2001,USAIDhelpedestablishanalmost300

memberAlbanianCoalitionAgainstCorruption(ACAC)tomobilizeciviloppositiontocorruptpractices.TheCitizen’sAdvocacyOffice(CAO)wascreatedin2001withsupportofUSAIDasanofficetoprovidefreelegalservicestocitizensotherwisewithoutaccesstolegalassistance.CAObecameoneoftheleadingvoicesinpublicdebatesregardinggovernance,justice,transparency,andcorruption.In2006,CAOwasdesignatedasAlbania’schapterofTransparencyInternational.

• USAIDfundedsixCorruptioninAlbaniaSurveys(2004-2010)whichservedasfocalpointsforpolicydebatesandacivicmonitoringeffortongovern-mentperformance,andfurtherstrengthenedAlba-nia’sdomesticsurveyresearchcapacity.

• InordertoprovidethepublicwithinformationabouttheAlbanianlegalsystemandencouragethediscussionabouttheproblemsfacingthejudicialsystem,USAIDsupportedanumberofmediapro-gramssince2003.AmongthemUSAIDhassup-porteda“60Minutes”styleTVprogram(“Hapur”)thathascarriedoutmorethan200investigationssince2002denouncingcorruptionandabuseofpublicofficeatthelocalandnationallevel,Heroes(2002-2004),andJusticeMatters(2008)programs.USAIDalsotrainedhundredsofjournaliststhroughaninvestigativejournalismtrainingprograms.

sUppORT FOR LEGAL EdUcATIOn

• USAIDwillimplementAlbania’sfirstcontinuinglegaleducationprogramforlawyersintwopilotregionalChambersofAdvocatesinDurresandVlora,incooperationwiththeAlbanianNationalChamberofAdvocates.

• USAIDwillsupportthepublicationofaBarJournalfortheAlbanianlegalprofession.

• USAIDwillestablishaclinicallegaleducationprogramattheUniversityofTiranaLawFaculty.

sTREnGTHEnInG THE cIvIL sOcIETY’s WATcHdOG ROLE

• USAIDwillworktostrengthenthecapacityofcivilsocietyandjudicialorganizationstomonitorandadvocateforjusticesystemreform,anti-corruption,andgoodgovernanceinAlbaniathroughspecializedtrainingandagrantsprogram.

• USAIDwillprovidetechnicalassistancetopromoteinvestigativereportingbyAlbanianjournalists.

• USAIDwillestablishaclinicallegaleducationprogramattheUniversityofTiranaLawFaculty.

cOnTRIBUTInG TO JUdIcIAL REFORM

• In1996,USAIDhelpedcreatetheAlbanianMagistrate’sSchool(AMS).USAIDandotherdonorstrainedteachersandprovidedthenecessaryequipmenttomaketheAMSfunctionalin1997.

• Since1999,USAIDhashelpedtheAMStotrainAlbania’ssittingjudgesonavarietyofcommerciallawtopics,includingoncommercialtransactions,basicaccounting,internationalprivatelaw,andintellectualproperty.Over140judgesweretrainedintheseprograms.

• USAIDhasalsosupportedthejudiciary’sindependentgoverningbodies.TheNationalJudicialConference(NJC),helditsfirstmeetinginDecember1999.USAIDsupporthelpedtoorganizeNJCcommittees,includingthoseonlegislature,ethics,andcourtbudgets.

• WithUSAIDsupport,theindependentcourtbudgetlawwasenactedin1999whichprovidedthejudiciarywiththeauthoritytocontrolitsownresources.

IMpROvInG AccEss TO JUsTIcE

• Inthemid-1990’s,USAIDworkedwithfourlegalclin-icsthatprovidefreeorlow-costlegaladvice.Thefirstclinic,theWomen’sAdvocacyCenter,openedin1996torepresentvictimsofdomesticviolence.Anotherclinic,theTiranaLegalAdviceService,servedthou-sandsofneedyclientsbyhelpingthemobtainpensionsandprotectingtheirpropertyrights.

• In1998,USAIDprovidedsupporttothenewlycreatedinstitutionofthePeople’sAdvocate(theOmbudsman)whoisresponsibleformonitoringthegovernment’srespectforhumanrights,andcompliancewithhumanrightslegislation.

• Inthelate1990’s,USAIDsupportedthecreationofAlbania’sNationalDayofJusticetoraiseawarenessonthepartofAlbania’scitizensabouttheirlegalrights.

pROJEcTs 2000-2010•CorruptionReductioninAlbania(2000-2004)•NGOLegalReformforCentralandEasternEurope(2001-2004)InternationalCenterforNon-ProfitLaw

•CriminalLawTraining(2001)• StrengtheningtheRuleofLaw(2000-2005)• JudicialReform(2001-2002)• AlbaniaPilotCourtAdministrationReformProject(2003-2005)• AlbaniaRuleofLawProject(2004-2007)•Women’sLegalRightsInitiative(WLRI)(2003-2006)• JudicialReformIndex(2006-2009)• RuleofLawPrograminAlbania(2007-2010)

pROJEcTs 2011 And BEYOnd• AlbanianJusticeSectorStrengtheningProject(JuST)(2010-2015)

pROJEcTs 1991-1999• TechnicalAssistanceondraftingAlbania’sconstitution(1993-1994)• AlbaniaJudicialTrainingProgram(JTP)(1998-2000)• CommercialLawTraining• CollateralLawReform(1998-2001)withtheUniversityofMaryland/IRISCenter

2011ANDBEYONDTHE2000sTHE1990s