Stronger Judiciary 'Would Boost Kosovo'

Pristina _ A stronger judicial system in Kosovo would bring economic growth and stability, Pristina officials say.

The creation of an independent judicial system, which the people of Kosovo would have confidence in, and improving how judicial decisions are enforced are some of the elements of a memorandum of understanding signed between the Kosovo Judicial Council, KJC and United States development agency, USAID.

“The courts must be able to function in a transparent and efficient way if they want to have the trust of people and so attract investment into Kosovo,” Henrietta Fore, the USAID administrator said upon signing the agreement in Pristina.

€ 8 million have been invested in Kosovo’s judiciary by USAID so far, and this is expected to help improve administration structures within Kosovo’s courts.

Apart from administration, the memorandum includes the introduction of special programmes used in courts to test how court rulings are implemented.

Parties who were present at the signing of the agreement said that the rule of law needs to be strong enough to boost overall democracy and economic development in Kosovo.