During September 2005, SPAI RSLOinitiated the pilot project designed to ensurenetworking and exchange ofexperiences among anticorruptionprosecutors in the region.

The first stage of this project included astudy visit of team of Montenegrin prose-cutors to the Croatian Prosecutor’s OfficeSpecialized on Fighting Organized Crime andCorruption.

The event took place in Zagreb, Croatia,during 4th and 10th of September 2005,within the USKOK premises.

The meeting benefited of the high level par-ticipation of the State General Prosecu-tors from the two countries, Mrs. VesnaMedenica – Republic of Montenegro andMladen Bajic – Croatia, as well as theChiefs Special Prosecutors for fightingorganized crime and corruption – Mrs.Stojanka Radovic - Republic of Montenegroand Mr. Zeljko Zganjer - Croatia.

During the entire week the two teams ofprosecutors exchanged information regard-ing the establishment of the special anticor-ruption unit, relevant legislation in place,special investigation means available, as wellas their practical experiences in investigatingand prosecuting complex corruption cases.

(Continued on page 3)

JOINT TRAINING WEEK FOR ANTICORRUPTION PROSECUTORS

ZAGREB, CROATIA – SEPTEMBER 4 – 10, 2005

HIGHLIGHTS

- Trainings for anticorrup-tion prosecutors

- Implementing the Euro-pean standards in publicprocurement

- Incorporating the anticor-ruption international stan-dards

- Anticorruption Calendar

Inside this issue:

JOINT TRAINING WEEKFOR ANTICORRUPTIONPROSECUTORS

1-3

SPAI CHAIRMAN’S HIGHLEVEL MEETINGS

1-2

C O N F E R E N C E O N“PROMOTING INCOR-PORATION OF INTER-N A T I O N A L A N T I -CORRUPTION STAN-DARDS INTO SERBIANLEGISLATION

2

C O N F E R E N C E O NEFFICIENT IMPLEMENTA-TION OF EUROPEANSTANDARDS IN PUBLICPROCUREMENT

3

R S L O ’ s W O R K I N GMEETING WITH THE SPAISENIOR REPRESENTA-

4

EVENTS WITH RSLO'SPARTIPATION

5

A N T I C O R R U P T I O NCALENDAR

7

YEAR 2005 IN PICTURES 6

Contact info: SPAI RSLO, Bistrik 5 71 000, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina,Telephone: +387 33 550 220, Fax: +387 33 550 221,

E-mail: Cornel Calinescu: calinescucv@lol.ba

ISSUE NO 5

NOVEMBER 1, 2005SPAIgram

This newsletter is an informal,periodic update on the activities carried out within the SPAI framework

SPAI CHAIRMAN’S HIGH LEVEL MEETINGS

Within the framework of an internationalevent organised by the Initiative inSeptemeber 2005, in Belgrade, Professor UgoDraetta, the SPAI Chairman, had a very fruit-ful side bilateral meeting with Mr. ZoranStojkovic, Serbian Minister of Justice. Withinthe bilateral discussions the SPAI Chairmanstressed the need of continuing the reformswithin the Justice and Home Affaires areas,especially efforts regarding fighting organizedcrime and corruption. Professor Draetta reit-erated the support of the Initiative for theimplementation of anticorruption measures inSerbia and highlighted the importance of put-ting into practice the commitments endorsedrecently within the Ministerial Conferenceorganized in May, in Brussels, when countriesof the region adopted the 10 measures plan

to curb corruption in SEE.

Minister Stojkovic confirmed his personalcommitment and the commitment of theentire Government to fight corruption inSerbia.

The International Conference on “Promoting Incorporationof International Anti-Corruption Standards into Serbian

Legislation” (organized by SPAI RSLO in cooperation withOSCE and Serbian Ministry of Justice)

Also, during the Confer-ence the SPAI Chairmanhad a brief conversationwith Mr. Vojislav Kos-tunica, the SerbianPrime Minister.

This type of meetings iscontinuing the series of

(Continued from page 1) meetings with high levelauthorithies from the SPAImember countries, initiatedin April 2005 when the SPAIChairman visited Romania.

During November 2005, theSPAI Chairman scheduled inSofia similar bilateral meet-ings with the BulgarianMinster of Justice, Na-

tional Coordinator for theStability Pact and repre-sentatives of the Anticor-ruption Council.

The bilateral discussions willapproach the practical stepsfor further involving Bulgariawithin the activities carriedout by the AnticorruptionInitiative.

Conclusions of the conference weretwo-fold.

First, it was underlined that all inter-national anti-corruption instrumentsadopted in the past ten years arenow framing a comprehensive setof standards that help legislatorsand policy-makers to design theirlegislation and improve their prac-tices in accordance with good gov-ernance principles. The necessity ofco-ordination among the inter-national organizations active inthe anti-corruption field was high-lighted as well.

Second, the progress of the Re-public of Serbia in adoptingsome crucial anti-corruptionlegislation was stressed: during thepast few years, fields of public pro-curement, financing of political par-ties, prevention of conflict of interestand free access to public informationhave been regulated by new legisla-tion. Currently, the National Anti-Corruption Strategy and the Crimi-nal Code are pending for adoption.The Law on Establishing a SpecializedAnti-Corruption Body and the Lawon a Supreme Audit Institution arebeing finalized. Remaining loop-holes in the Serbian legislation andsome difficulties in implementationwere highlighted by experts andpractitioners, in particular in the fieldof criminalization and effective inves-tigating, prosecuting and sanctioningof corruption-related offences.

As main conclusion, the conferenceparticipants urged the Parliament of

the State Union to ratify as soon aspossible the UN Convention againstCorruption, Council of Europe CivilLaw Convention and Additional Pro-tocol to the Council of Europe Crimi-nal Law Convention on Corruption. Inparallel they urged the Republic ofSerbia to further harmonize legislationand practices with international anti-corruption standards.

The following topics were identifiedduring the conference as most ur-gently requiring legislative im-provements:- Liability of legal persons for acts

of bribery- Adequate criminalization and

effective sanctions for active andpassive acts of bribery and bribery-related acts, including criminaliza-tion of bribery of foreign public offi-cials

- Practical aspects of implemen-tation of anti-corruption regu-lations (investigation, prosecution,judgment, effective sanctioning).

The conference, held on 20-21 Septem-ber in Belgrade and attended by 140participants, was opened by Prime Minis-ter Vojislav Kostunica, Minister of JusticeZoran Stojkovic, Ambassador MaurizioMassari, Head of OSCE Mission to Ser-bia and Montenegro, H.E. Hugues Per-net, Ambassador of the Republic ofFrance to Serbia and Montenegro andProf. Ugo Draetta, SPAI Chairman.

The event was organized by the OSCEMission to Serbia and Montenegro andthe Ministry of Justice of the Republic ofSerbia, in co-operation with the StabilityPact Anti-Corruption Initiative/RegionalSecretariat Liaison Office (SPAI/RSLO).

The conference gathered representa-tives from relevant Ministries, the Na-tional Assembly, bodies in charge of pre-venting corruption and the civil society.

SPAI RSLO Executive Secretary pre-sented during the event the recent de-velopments within SPAI. Other relevantinternational organizations active in thefight against corruption were also repre-sented by senior officials: the UN Officeon Drugs and Crime, the Council ofEurope, the OSCE and the OECD. Rep-resentatives from Montenegro, Sloveniaand France presented their experienceas well.

Page 2

SPAI Chairman stressedthe need of continuing thereforms within the Justiceand Home Affaires areas,

especially efforts regardingfighting organized

crime and corruption

SPAIGRAM

SPAI CHAIRMAN’S HIGH LEVEL MEETINGS

CONFERENCE ON “PROMOTING INCORPORATION OF INTERNATIONAL ANTI-CORRUPTIONSTANDARDS INTO SERBIAN LEGISLATION”, BELGRADE, SERBIA - 20-21 SEPTEMBER, 2005

Page 3

During September 24 and25th, SPAI RSLO, in coop-eration with OSCE Missionin Serbia and Montenegro,Office in Podgorica and thePublic Procurement Com-mission from Montenegro,organized in Montenegro aRegional Conference onEfficient Implementation ofEuropean Standards in Pub-lic Procurement: LegislativeFramework and Best Prac-tices.

The meeting was formallyopened by Mr. MiroslavIvanisevic, Deputy PrimeMinister, Republic of Mon-tenegro. Also, keynotespeeches were addressedby Ambassador ParaschievaBadescu, Head of the OSCEOffice in Podgorica, DeputyHead of OSCE Mission toSerbia and Montenegro, Dr.Ray Kirkland, Regional Di-rector, USAID, VeselinSukovic, Executive Secre-tary, SPAI RSLO and MarkoLazarevic, President of Pub-lic Procurement Commis-

sion of the Republic of Mon-tenegro.

This regional event broughttogether more than 60 ex-perts in public procure-ment, policy makers andrepresentatives of the judi-ciary from the region andprovided the opportunity toshare best practices and ex-periences, successes andfailures.

Participants representedcountries that are part of theEU Accession Process(Croatia and Romania) andStabilization and AssociationProcess (Albania, Bosnia andHerzegovina, Macedonia,Serbia and Montenegro).Furthermore, experts fromSlovenia, OECD, UNDP,USAID and ABA CEELI at-tended the Conference.

The topics discussed were:

the implementation of Euro-pean Standards in PublicProcurement (Directive2004/17 EC and Directive

2004/18 EC),

the current case law inEU countries,

best practices in theSPAI countries,

implementation of e- pro-curement and e- govern-

ance projects.

The Conference also consti-tuted a final step in draftingthe new Montenegrin law onpublic procurement. Withthis occasion all participantsprovided valuable inputs thatwill be incorporated by theDrafting Committee withinthe final version of the law.

The Conference also broughtinto attention the possiblelinks between the public pro-curement systems and theirvulnerability to corruption.

A special panel designed andmoderated by RSLO repre-sentatives discussed about themost efficient measures to beadopted, the importance ofprevention and repression ofcorruption public procure-ment, victims of corruptionand available channels forcomplaints and reparation ofdamages, sanctions and possi-ble liability of the legal per-sons.

The active participation of theexperts and the interestshowed for this topic entitlesRSLO to analyze the possibil-ity of organizing a RegionalConference dedicated to thevulnerable points and riskfactors for corruption withinpublic procurement.

REGIONAL CONFERENCE ON EFFICIENT IMPLEMENTATION OFEUROPEAN STANDARDS IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT

BECICI, REPUBLIC OF MONTENEGRO – SEPTEMBER 23 – 24, 2005

JOINT TRAINING WEEK FOR ANTICORRUPTION PROSECUTORS

ZAGREB, CROATIA – SEPTEMBER 4 – 10, 2005

The pragmatic approach adopted by the prose-cutors proved to be very fruitful and ensuredthe creation of a real working environ-ment.

Within the conclusions of the meeting theparticipants expressed their openness to fur-ther develop the communication between thetwo Offices and invited RSLO to consider

(Continued from page 1)

SPAIGRAM

the continuation of the current pro-ject by involving similar specializedbodies from the region.

Also, as a way of ensuring the exchange ofinformation among anticorruption prosecu-tors, the participants manifested their sup-port to the idea of creating a joint bookleton „Sharing best practices in fightinghigh level corruption within SPAI coun-tries”.

„Sharing best practicesin fighting high level

corruption within SPAIcountries”

The Conference alsobrought into attentionthe possible links be-tween the public pro-curement systems andtheir vulnerability to

corruption

SPAI RSLOpartner organizations

As stated within the Minis-terial Declaration on 10Joint Measures to CurbCorruption in SEE, SPAIRSLO in close cooperationwith the Senior Representa-tives is tasked to jointlyelaborate and present tothe SPAI Steering Groupthe Plan for activities to beimplemented within theSPAI framework in 2006 -2007.

In order to better preparethe document and to en-sure the full coordinationamong all SPAI countries,SPAI RSLO organized, atthe beginning of October, aworking meeting withthe SPAI Senior Repre-sentatives.

The main objectives of themeeting were

- to identify the areas ofnational and regionalpriority where RSLO maybe involved;

- to develop the strategicplan for the Senior Rep-resentatives and SPAIRSLO during the next twoyears;

- to ensure the fullcoordination andexchange ofinformation between theSPAI SeniorRepresentatives andRSLO.

The meeting constituted anopportunity to share andexchange informationabout the recent develop-ments within the region,but also a preparatoryphase in elaborating thefirst draft of the Plan for2006 and 2007.

In the first part of the meet-ing each Senior Representa-tive highlighted the areaswhere the anticorruptionefforts are focused, as wellas the short and mediumterm priorities. Further-more, each Senior Repre-sentative pointed out the

type of activities where RSLOinvolvement is required.

It was generally agreed thatthe discussed aspects to beincorporated within the Planfor 2006—2007.

During the second part of themeeting the RSLO teambriefly presented the currentstate of play in implementingthe Strategic documents ofSPAI and the plans for thenear future.

The Executive Secretary of-fered an overview regardingthe process of creating anddeveloping the Regional Officeand the targets to be achievedin the next 2 years. The stresswas put on the regionalownership principle and theobjective of creating a selfsustainable Regional Cen-ter for Excellence.

The Administrative assistantpresented the general rulesapplicable in relation withRSLO regarding the financialmanagement and organ-izational aspects. The Sen-ior Representatives werebriefed about the mandatoryrules for requesting support,accounting and reporting.

The Anticorruption expertintroduced the main featuresof the Plan for 2006 - 2007(available on www.spai-rslo.org) and opened the floorfor each item to be discussedby the Senior Representatives.

Outcomes of the discussions :

All Senior Representativessupported the idea of the an-nual award and asked theRegional Secretariat to pro-duce an outline before theSteering Group Meeting as aframework for further discus-sions during the SG Meetingscheduled for November 4 - 5in Ohrid.

Very good inputs were re-ceived regarding the Planfor 2006 - 2007 and also, ageneral agreement wasreached on the 3 levelsapproach suggested byRSLO: SPAI, NATIONALand RSLO.

It was also agreed that dur-ing the Steering GroupMeeting each level to bediscussed and approvedseparately. Based on thisinputs the agenda of theSteering Group Meetingwas redrafted by RSLOaccordingly:

SPAI level activities/projects: SPAI SG MTG, SPAIChairman, SPAI annual award,SPAI Resource Center, Coop-eration with SPAI partners

National level activities/projects: priorities in imple-menting the Brussels Declara-tion, national/regional eventsplaned together with RSLO

Presentation of the RSLOportfolio: national and re-gional events, twinning typeactivities, regional tour, intern-ship program, summer school.

The Senior Representativeswelcomed the proposalmade by RSLO to have onlyone Steering Group Meet-ing per year and to increasethe number of meetingsfocused on the program-matic priorities.

Furthermore, the SeniorRepresentatives expressedtheir interest for the RSLOinternship program.

As agreed during the meet-ing in Sarajevo, RSLO ac-commodated all the sugges-tions made by the SeniorRepresentatives within theworking documents for theSPAI Steering Group Meet-ing.

Page 4 SPAIGRAM

RSLO’s WORKING MEETING WITH THE SPAI SENIOR REPRESENTATIVES,SARAJEVO, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA, OCTOBER 3 - 4, 2005

“The meeting inSarajevo constituted an

opportunity to share andexchange information

about the recent develop-ments within the region,but also a preparatoryphase in elaborating thefirst draft of the Plan for

2006 and 2007”

SPAI RSLO in close co-operation with the Sen-ior Representatives is

tasked to jointly elabo-rate and present to theSPAI Steering Group thePlan for activities to beimplemented within theSPAI framework in 2006

- 2007

During September and October 2005, RSLO’s Executive Secre-tary and Anticorruption Expert actively participated withinvarious regional and national anticorruption events. Duringtheir presentations the RSLO representatives provided up-dated information about the progress reached by the Officeand the member countries.

ZAGREB, CROATIA – SEPTEMEBER 15—16, 2005

DESCRIPTION/TITLE:

Alpe - Dunav - Adria Regional Economy Forum

PARTICIPANTS:

Business community, NGOs, civil society and governmental repre-sentatives.

SPAI RSLO ROLE:

Executive Secretary to attend and deliver keynote speech aboutrelation between corruption and business

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY – OCTOBER 10, 2005

DESCRIPTION/TITLE:

Round table on Gaps, challenges and legacies in East EuropeanDemocracies

PARTICIPANTS:

USAID Administrator, USAID Regional Services Center, VariousNGOs

SPAI RSLO ROLE:

Executive Secretary to attend and present the RSLO strategy

BLAGOEVGRAD, BULGARIA – October 14 – 16, 2005

DESCRIPTION/TITLE:

Balkan Parliament International Conference

PARTICIPANTS:

100 future decision-makers from the Balkans, ex-USSR, and West-ern Europe - 40 international guests and around 60 students fromthe American University in Bulgaria.

SPAI RSLO role:

Anticorruption expert to deliver seminar course on anti-corruption and a presentation about the role of SPAI andRSLO in the region

PODGORICA, MONTENEGRO – OCTOBER 19,2005

DESCRIPTION/TITLE:

National Anticorruption Conference

PARTICIPANTS:

Montenegrin public authorities and NGOs, UNDP, Councilof Europe, Anticorruption Initiative Directorate, MANS

SPAI RSLO role:

Executive Secretary to present the RSLO strategy

LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA – OCTOBER 27, 2005DESCRIPTION/TITLE:

SPOC Board Meeting

PARTICIPANTS:

SPOC contact points from the member countries, Donorcommunity, Partner international organizations

SPAI RSLO role:

Executive Secretary to present the RSLO strategy

EVENTS WITH RSLO'S PARTIPATION

Page 5 SPAIGRAM

For additional information from SPAI countries and

direct access to the SPAI Anticorruption Resource Center please visit our web site

www.spai-rslo.org

Page 6 SPAIGRAM

ANTICORRUPTION CALENDARFOR NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER 2005

SPAI PARTNERS EVENTS

Stability Pact Regional Table and WT Meetings,Prague, Czech Republic, November 14—16, 2005

ABA CEELI and UNDP –- International Conferenceon Assets Recovery for Judiciaries and Government Officialsfrom Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kos-ovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia (Belgrade,Serbia, November 17 – 18, 2005)

Council of Europe - Regional Thematic Seminar:“Anti-corruption Services (Belgrade, Serbia, 18 November2005)

OECD - SPAI seminar on Assessment of Conflict-of-Interest Laws (Belgrade, Serbia, 19 November 2005)

SPAI RSLO EVENTS

9th SPAI Steering Group, Ohrid, MacedoniaNovember 4 – 5, 2005

Visit of the SPAI Chairman in Sofia, Bulgaria

November 6 - 8, 2005

Back to back events in Sofia, Bulgaria:

UN Convention against Corruption - Pre - ratification confer-ence (November 7-9, 2005)

Regional workshop for anticorruption public prosecutors(November 9 – 11, 2005)

International Anticorruption Day, December 9th

National Anticorruption Conferences in Sarajevo (Bosnia andHerzegovina) and Chisinau (Moldova)

SPAI PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS

Page 7 SPAIGRAM

YEAR 2005 IN PICTURES

Photo by Manca Juvan

Photo by OSCE

Photo by RSLO

Photo by RSLO

Photo by RSLOPhoto by RSLOPhoto by RSLO

Photo by RSLO

Photo by Manca Juvan

Photo by Manca Juvan

Photo by Manca Juvan

SPAIgram

Dear readers it is in our intention to further develop the SPAIgram.

To this end we kindly ask for your suggestions and comments.

Also, please send us a list of additional contact information for SPAI partnersthat are interested in receiving this newsletter in electronic format.

This publication was made possible thought support provided by the Regional Services Center, U.S. Agency forInternational Development, under the terms of Award No. 194-A-00-04-00101-00 (SPAI).

The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S.Agency for International Development.

* * *

For any additional information about SPAIgram or SPAI RSLO please do not hesitate to contact us:

SPAI RSLO - Cornel - Virgiliu Calinescu - calinescucv@lol.ba

STABILITY PACT ANTI-CORRUPTION INITIATIVE

REGIONAL SECRETARIAT LIAISON OFFICE