Upcoming Event: Good governance and resilience of justice sector reform in the Western Balkans

19 November 2021

On 24 November 2021, Cooperation and Development Institute in cooperation with CEPS is organizing the next event “Good governance and resilience of justice sector reform in the Western Balkans. This event is implemented in the framework of  the initiative Preparing and Supporting Albania for EU Accession Process (ALBE), supported by Dutch Embassy in Tirana.

 While the SEE6 reforms were advancing, they were becoming integral part of the conditions put by the EU for the official opening of negotiations. During 2019 we noticed a shift in the composition of EU conditionality illustrated by the developments below:

• From chapter-based and normative methodology, to reform-based and impact-oriented methodology; and
• From the EU Commission as a designer, monitor and reporter to an increasing participation of member states in setting the benchmarks, scrutinizing and deciding about the progress. In Albania it was translated into the nine Bundestag conditions, the Dutch concerns on organized crime, or the French decision to block the official opening of negotiations with the EU.

The focus on the reforms and the inclusion of newly created local institutions and / or of “cleansed” ones into the Enlargement benchmark list, transforms those very institutions into indicators of the success of the whole reform. ALBE methodology brings in focus their good governance features of effectiveness, efficiency, transparency, accountability, predictability, sound financial management and of their integrity. In our hypothesis, the institutional “good governance” conditions the quality, efficiency and sustainability of their delivery process and the quality of their expected deliverables.  To be sustainable they must be well governed. To be resilient they should plan in the long term, take into account the availability of local resources, and carry regularly risk-management exercises. To be resilient they must function efficiently and produce qualitative and efficient outputs without permanently relying on external assistance.

We have used the ‘Appreciative Inquiry’ approach to identify indicators and assess features of the selected new structures and institutions belonging to the positive core of justice sector reform, such as vision, values, embedded knowledge, learning processes, organizational achievements, availability of technical and financial resources, efficacy, accountability, transparency, openness, inclusiveness, and integrity.

The outreach activities in Brussels are designed to contribute to the legitimacy of the justice reform in Albania through increased accountability. The presentations will provide data on the progress and the challenges of the Justice Reform focused on their good governance component. The following debates will aim to promote best examples, muster support for the newly established justice institutions, and increase their transparency, scrutiny and accountability to the EU and other stakeholders.

The initiative “Preparing and Supporting Albania for the EU accession process (ALBE): Monitoring and Supporting Albania’s reforms on its path to EU” is implemented by Cooperation and Development Institute and supported by MATRA program. The Brussels event “Good governance and resilience of justice sector reform in the Western Balkans”, organized in cooperation with CEPS, will take place via ZOOM and is free and open to the public, but registration is mandatory.

If you are interested to participate,  we invite you to join us virtually by registering via the link below: https://www.ceps.eu/ceps-events/good-governance-and-resilience-of-new-justice-reform-institutions-in-albania/

You can consult the agenda here.