Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice, Prof. Dr. Kuçi, hosted UNODC delegation headed by Jason Reichelt, Justice official. The purpose of the meeting was to inform Deputy Prime Minister Kuçi about the next cooperation between UNDP and UNODC within the UNDP Project in Supporting Anti-Corruption Efforts in Kosovo, which is financed by the Swiss Development and Cooperation.

During the meeting, Minister Kuçi stated that fighting corruption is a priority for the Government and it is in interest of Kosovo institutions and society in general.

Ministry of Justice have worked in drafting appropriate legislation to create adequate conditions for prosecutors and judges through toughening penalties for offenses with the new Criminal Code, and simplifying procedures with Code of Criminal Procedure, stated Minister Kuçi. According to him, the Ministry was working towards establishing an adequate framework for the functioning of these institutions. Now it is greatly important to implement these provisions in practice by relevant institutions. 

UNODC through this project will support capacity building and internal mechanisms of judiciary of Kosovo in investigating cases of internal corruption and disciplining the judges and prosecutors for acts of corruption and further training of judiciary to investigate and prosecute corruption cases outside the judiciary.

As for the independence of the judiciary, Minister Kuçi said that based on Kosovo legal system and legislation, the judiciary shall be guaranteed full independence and impartiality in its work. He said that judges are independent, unbiased, and uninfluenced in any way by any physical or legal entity, including public authorities, while exercising their duty and make decisions, adding that they also enjoy full independence with regard to budget management. Furthermore, Minister Kuçi said that guarantying permanent mandate and decent wages are two most important steps in the context of judicial reform, which marked a progress towards an independent judiciary was marked. 

Kuçi stressed that beside independence of judiciary it is also important to ensure accountability of these institutions in order to increase the efficiency and professionalism at work, therefore external and internal evaluations and performance of judges and prosecutors are needed. Additionally, Kuçi stressed the importance of transparency in the work of the judiciary.

Moreover, both parties discussed expansion of cooperation and implementation of joint projects that will focus on training of trainers, development of advertising campaigns and capacity building of staff in general in order to strengthen the fight against corruption.