Court Monitoring

About the Court Monitoring Component

Free legal representation for all, including representation of defendants in criminal proceedings, is recognized by Article 31 of the Kosovo Constitution and Article 6 paragraph 3(c) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which applies directly based on Article 22 of the Kosovo Constitution. The OSCE 2016 Justice Monitor, however, purports that parties were not represented by counsel in 64% of general criminal cases. Though anecdotal, evidence suggests that the majority of the 64% are defendants and that the representation gap primarily occurs when a defendant’s case falls below the mandatory representation requirement–when the crime alleged in the indictment carries a prison sentence of eight (8) years or more.

The right to effective legal remedies is also guaranteed by Article 54 of the Kosovo Constitution and by Article 13 of ECHR. However, on 22 August 2016, the Ombudsperson released an ex-officio report regarding the lack of efficient legal remedies in administrative dispute cases due to court failure to process cases efficiently, either by delaying appellate review or refusing to render appellate decisions on the merits as foreseen by the law on administrative disputes. Instead the courts are sending such cases back for lower court review (administrative body or basic court). This situation creates unnecessary delay in court proceedings, creates lack of legal certainty and diminishes citizen trust in the justice system.

D4J’s court monitoring component is led by the Kosovo Law Initiative (KLI). KLI will foster accountability of justice actors by monitoring their adherence to key ECHR access to justice requirements – including access to counsel in criminal matters, and efficient adjudication of administrative disputes.

Goal

The goal of the court monitoring component is to expose and document the gap in legal representation of defendants and the lack of effective legal remedies in administrative disputes.

KLI Partner

About Kosovo Law Institute

KLI was established in February 2009 to support access to justice, justice system reform, and adherence to rule of law principles in Kosovo. In fulfilling its mission to improve access to justice and strengthen rule of law in Kosovo and the region, KLI takes a holistic approach, and strives to work with and improve the key processes and actions undertaken by all justice actors in the justice system.

KLI work is focused on the following fields:

  • Judicial reform;
  • Rule of law;
  • Legislative initiatives;
  • Law implementation;
  • Compatibility of national legislation with EU and UN standards;
  • Legal education;
  • More about KLI you can find: http://kli-ks.org/