Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice, Prof. Dr. Kuçi, met Stephane Leyenberg from the Division of Justice CEPEJ / KEED – Secretary of the Commission and the representative from the Council of Europe Office in Prishtina, Tim Cartwright.

Minister Kuçi informed the representatives on the developments in the rule of law and the reforms undertaken in order to consolidate the legal infrastructure and human capacity building. Also, stated that it was of particular interest to ensure the independence, impartiality and accountability of the judicial system.

Leyenberger stressed that the Council of Europe is interested in concrete cooperation with Kosovo, particularly through monitoring and evaluation mechanisms of justice, which consolidated mechanisms are used in the evaluation of judicial systems in the Member States as well.

The Council of Europe is interested to increase cooperation with Kosovo and through the evaluation of the system and the concrete work to contribute in raising the efficiency of the judiciary.

Kuçi expressed the willingness to cooperate with the Council of Europe, emphasising that it is now important to ensure the effective functionality of the judiciary and the provision of services to citizens in the most efficient manner. 

The parties discussed modalities of cooperation with other institutions as well, in various forms, for much practical project evaluations aimed at strengthening the rule of law in Kosovo.