OSCE Presence helps Albania provide faster, fairer trials
Getting secretaries and clerks up to speed
The OSCE Presence has been supporting the Court for Serious Crimes since January 2004, when it started out with limited resources and was housed in cramped facilities within the Tirana District Court.
In the framework of a larger capacity-building project carried out in 2005 and 2006, the Presence organized typing workshops for the Court's nine secretaries.
Enkelejda Millonai, who has been working with the Court for the past two years, took part in a dozen two-hour training sessions in fast typing, the use of typing software and the organization of electronic files. She can see a big improvement over the last three months.
"Court sessions used to be really slow. They are much quicker now that we have been using computers and can type fast," she says.
Sandër Simoni is the Court's Chair: "Now we are confident that court secretaries are able to successfully handle the recording of judicial sessions."
Two Albanian experts were hired to provide additional training workshops for court clerks. The seminars aimed to increase their understanding of the right to a fair trial, the right to access public documents, witness protection and security in general, and relations with the various groups of people using the Court.
"Many projects focus on the big plans and main actors," says the Presence's Senior Legal Officer, Mari-Ann Roos. "To deliver justice, however, it is not enough to have good laws, well-educated judges and court buildings. Without the support of an engaged, well-trained and well-equipped administrative staff, justice cannot be delivered in a fair and timely manner."
Providing equipment and access to information
Since the start of the project, the OSCE Presence has donated to the Court over two dozen computers as well as printers, telephones, photocopying and fax machines, office radiators and uniforms for clerks and secretaries.
It has also furnished the new waiting room for witnesses. The findings of an OSCE study highlighted problems with witnesses and victims having to confront defendants and their families while waiting in the court halls or even outside the building.
Marking the end of its capacity-building project, the OSCE Presence published a handbook and set up a website to increase public awareness about the Albanian justice system, the Serious Crimes Court, fair trial standards and the right to information. The website also provides current information on trial schedules and ongoing and completed trials.
With faster trials, better equipped staff and facilities, and increased access to information, the Serious Crimes Court is on its way to modernization. To continue supporting the development of the Albanian justice system, the Presence will publish an Analysis of Some Aspects of the Criminal Justice System in Albania and provide further training on the basis of its findings.