Pristine, 30 March 2021 – FOL Movement with the support of Kosovo Foundation for Open Society (KFOS) held a conference in which case the report “Public Administration Reform in a state of stagnation” was published.

Panelists at this conference were: Luigi Brusa, Head of Cooperation Sector from the EU Office in Kosovo and Ibadete Mehmeti from the Department for Public Administration Reform in the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Mexhide Demolli-Nimani, executive director of the FOL Movement said that since October last year FOL has monitored the implementation of the Sectoral Reform Contract for the Public Administration Reform. “The purpose of this report is to support the active engagement of civil society with the Public Administration Reform process, as well as to encourage discussion on the challenges and opportunities to move forward with public administration reforms,” she said. According to her, Kosovo started negotiations with the European Commission to benefit from Sectoral Budget Support in 2017, while in December, 2017 the Sectoral Reform Contract for Public Administration Reform (SRC for PAR) in the amount of € 25 million was ratified by Kosovo and its implementation began in 2018.

Luigi Brusa, Head of the Cooperation Sector from the EU Office said that, we have created a program in order to monitor the real implementation of the reform in general. “Our main goal is to improve the coordination of work, the quality of implementation of the reform in question, but also the creation and implementation of a more efficient regulation. “Increasing transparency and accountability is key in terms of development through this reform,” he said.

According to him, the previous governments did not do their job properly and consequently we are behind with the implementation of the Reform. “Targets are not difficult to achieve, but they require discipline in their performance by civilian staff. So far we have seen how previous governments have hired non-deserving staff, increasing nepotism and thus unfinished business, so we hope that the current government will make internal reforms, hiring deserving staff who will be retained responsible for their work, as well as a capable director and managerial staff. I encourage the new government to reform the administration and complete the reform in question. “Public administration is difficult to reform, but not impossible,” said Brusa.

Meanwhile, Ibadete Mehmeti from the Department for Public Administration Reform in the Ministry of Internal Affairs said that given that the administration reform is a priority, we had challenges in achieving the objectives, where the failure to achieve these objectives has significantly affected the political situation in the country as and pandemic. “What should be mentioned is that we have achieved progress in some points, here we should mention the progress for the sector budget reform from the thick fix”, she added, adding that the report presents the real situation in which we are, but it remains to work on achieving of the objectives which we have set for ourselves.

The main findings of the report are:

-The overall objective of the Sectoral Reform Contract for Public Administration Reform is “to assist the Government of Kosovo in increasing the accountability, transparency and effectiveness of public administration, with a focus on the needs of citizens and businesses.” This overall objective is further defined through specific objectives and expected results.

The Sector Reform Contract for Public Administration Reform (SRC for PAR) is a very effective tool for promoting local ownership and providing a focus on key public administration reforms. SRC for PAR contains extremely important reform objectives that are essential for citizens and the business community. As such, this partnership between the Kosovo government and the European Commission needs to continue, however, the reform goals need to be more realistic;

In 2018 the government did relatively well in achieving the reform goals from KRS to PAR by providing € 3.1 million from EU funds that were disbursed directly to the national treasury in 2019. However, this was minus € 2.4 million from the financial assistance of committed by the EU in the amount of € 5.5 million if all reform goals were achieved.

2019 was a sad year for public administration reforms, as only one indicator was assessed by the EU as achieved, resulting in € 420,000 disbursed in variable installments to the Kosovo government. The lack of progress in 2019 resulted in the loss of over € 5 million from the government. Reform targets for 2020 shifted to 2021 due to the impact of Covid-19, giving the government a new opportunity to secure 5.5m euros in EU funding.

The failure to achieve all the agreed reform goals by KRS for PAR for 2018 and 2019 resulted in over 7 million euros that were not disbursed to the national treasury by EU funds.

The public administration reform agenda lacks political leadership, mainly as a result of the merger of the former Ministry of Public Administration with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which has not functioned. Lack of political leadership has undermined public administration reforms;

There is not enough political will to implement the main reform goals of the Sectoral Reform Contract for PAR, especially the rationalization of independent agencies and institutions;

The government should approach the implementation of the SRC for PAR as important for its citizens and the business community. Of course, financial incentives from the EU are also important. The year 2021 presents a major opportunity for the government to successfully implement the PAR Sector Reform Contract and receive € 5.5 million;

The Department of Public Administration Reform in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which is in charge of coordinating the PAR agenda, is a positive mechanism that works proactively to support, monitor and coordinate the reform process, however the department itself does not is charged with implementing specific reform goals. The department needs the necessary political support to become more effective in advancing the implementation of the reform goals by the responsible institutions.

Pristine, 19 March 2021 – The Law on Protection of Signalers has been adopted for two years now in Kosovo, but this law is not being implemented in the field of the private sector. Apart from not being implemented, there is very little information about the existence of such a law that affects the private sector in the country.

Even, Telegrafi has contacted some local companies and representatives of chambers but the same have said that they have little information about the work and responsibilities of this law.

The Law on Protection of Signalers, which aims to report any irregularities in the private and public sector that are to the detriment of the public interest, was approved by the Assembly of Kosovo on December 18, 2018.

The President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo, Arian Zeka for the Telegraf says that the private sector has very little knowledge regarding the Law on Protection of Signalers.

“I think that there is modest knowledge within private sector companies regarding the existence of the Law on Signal Protection, even when I say modest I am emphasizing the need for a slightly more aggressive campaign by business associations and institutions responsible, but why not also civil society organizations. The American Chamber of Commerce in this regard has organized or co-organized several events with the FOL Movement to inform businesses themselves about the existence of such a law, the benefits that arise for private sector employers, respectively managers of private sector enterprises.” said he.

Zeka says that the Labor Inspectorate should continue with its role, but not be punitive.

“I believe that the Labor Inspectorate should continue with its informative role, while in recent years PIK has been active in promoting safety at work and employees, given the incidents that have occurred in this regard. I believe that such campaigns should be carried out in the promotion of the Law on the protection of whistleblowers. “The approach should not be punitive, as we have a relatively new law, about which there was little knowledge, so we should avoid possible sanctions or penalties,” said he.

Florent Spahija from the Democratic Institute of Kosovo has also stated about the functioning of the Law on Protection of Signalers.

Protection of whistleblowers is a very important area and the new law still does not find application, unfortunately in its entirety, because we do not have a regulation, where they are obliged from 6 months immediately after approval to be issued by the Ministry of Justice, in this sense, The unfortunate thing is that our institutions have not yet achieved the law in full. “There have been occasional signals, but both the courts and the institutions themselves have been reluctant to protect them in the sense of the new law,” he told Telegrafi.

Spahija claims that the private sector has very little knowledge about the Law on Protection of Signalers.

“The private sector is not that much knowledge, for the fact that part of the private sector is left a little aside by law, the private sector owes over 50 people and then an official responsible for signaling, on the other hand what we see is that there are no people placed in the institution “, he said.

Meanwhile, the president of the Independent Workers’ Union, Jusuf Azemi says that the situation of workers in the private sector continues to be bad. As for the Law on Protection of Signalers in Kosovo, Azemi says that he does not believe that it will be respected.

“We have always given the picture that the situation of workers in the private sector is very serious and with signs of deterioration, as we have no element that their position will be regulated, on the contrary starting from the lack of contract, from low wages, from lack of legal support, and from the collective agreement, they make the situation of workers worse in the region. I do not believe that the Law on Protection of Signalers will be implemented either “, stressed Azemi.

On the other hand, the Labor Inspectorate, which is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Law on Signal Protection, says that due to the pandemic they have not managed to take the necessary actions to implement this law.

The Chief Inspector of the Labor Inspectorate, Ekrem Kastrati in an electronic response to the Telegrafi has stated about this topic.

“We inform you that among other things due to the circumstances created by the pandemic, as well as the fact that so far no regulation has been drafted which would regulate the procedure to be followed so far for the above reasons and the small number of inspectors, whose in the first part of 2020 have been engaged in the supervision of antiCOVID-19 measures, we have not managed to take the necessary actions pursuant to Law no. 06 / L-085 on the protection of Signalers.

Except as above based on our information received from employees realized in which IP has been a participating party in relation to this topic, it is understood that it was the obligation of the Ministry of Justice to draft regulations for whistleblowers, but so far it has not approved the regulation in question, which despite the fact that the scope of this regulation is determined to be applicable in the public sector, in our case could have served as a guide for the creation and concretization of rules in the private sector,” says Kryeziu.

However, the Labor Inspectorate says that in the annual work plan for 2021, they have foreseen activities for this topic.

Otherwise, the Law on Signal Protection sets out the rules for signaling, signaling procedure, the rights and protection of whistleblowers and the obligations of public institutions and private entities related to signaling.

A whistleblower is any person who reports or discloses information about a threat or violation of the public interest in the context of his or her employment relationship in the public or private sector.

The FOL movement from February 2020 had started monitoring the implementation of the Law on Signal Protection in the private sector. During this period, FOL has organized numerous information meetings with various businesses, with the Kosovo Chamber of Commerce and the American Chamber of Commerce.

In addition, FOL has drafted the document “Manual with 10 response scenarios for signaling cases in the private sector” which aims to contribute directly to the construction of bridges and communication channels between various institutions and the private sector.

The Guide for Signaling in the Private Sector has been drafted which contains general instructions which facilitate the meaning and content of the Law on Protection of Signalers, related to signaling in the private sector. This guide is designed to help all employees in the private sector, who may signal suspicious actions or practices in their workplace. The guide also contains a Model Regulation which can serve as a guide for drafting private sector law enforcement internal acts.

FOL through various video animations published on television and social networks has promoted and sensitized the public about the importance of signaling and implementation of this law in practice.

This article / story was realized within the project of the FOL Movement “Signalers, the Law to Protect”, which is enabled by the ‘Civil Society Program for Albania and Kosovo’, funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and managed by the Foundation Kosovo for Civil Society (KCSF) in partnership with Partners Albania for Change and Development (PA). The content and recommendations presented do not represent the official position of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Kosovo Civil Society Foundation (KCSF). / Telegrafi/.

Pristine, 16 March 2021 – FOL monitored the Annual Work Plan of the Government of Kosovo with its 15 Ministries and the Office of the Prime Minister, which based on the implementation of the plan show that there was a low level of implementation of activities which were scheduled to be completed by 2020. This monitoring shows that The Annual Work Plan of the Government for the period January-December 2020 was realized only 42%.

Erblin Hoxha, project coordinator at the FOL Movement, said that the ministries that managed to implement over 90% of the work plan are; Ministry of Local Government, Ministry of Regional Development and Ministry of Returns and Communities.

The Ministry of Economy and Environment within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 9 objectives with 89 activities, of which 38 have remained unfinished.

The Ministry for Communities and Returns within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 4 objectives with 12 activities where only 1 remains unfinished.

The Ministry of Regional Development within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 3 objectives with 18 activities, of which 1 has remained unfinished.

The Ministry of Health within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 5 objectives with a total of 29 activities. Of the 29 planned activities, 14 have remained unfinished.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare in the framework of the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 2 objectives with a total of 10 activities. 4 of them have remained unrealized.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 6 objectives, a total of 71 activities. There are 19 activities left unfinished.

The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 4 objectives with a total of 56 activities, of which 31 have remained unfinished.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs in the framework of the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 8 objectives with a total of 159 activities, of which 72 have remained unfinished.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development in the framework of the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 2 objectives with a total of 20 activities. Of the 20 planned activities, 12 have remained unfinished.

The Ministry of Finance in the framework of the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 5 objectives with 51 activities throughout the year. Of the 51 planned activities, 10 have remained unfinished.

The Ministry of Infrastructure within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 5 objectives with a total of 30 activities, of which 16 have remained unfinished.

The Office of the Prime Minister, within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 28 objectives with a total of 166 activities, of which it has realized only 73 activities.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 6 objectives with 46 activities, where 33 activities remain unfinished.

The Ministry of Justice, within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 5 objectives. Within these 5 objectives, a total of 52 activities were foreseen to be realized, but 24 activities remained unfulfilled.

The Ministry of Local Government, within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 3 objectives within which 23 activities were planned to be realized. Out of 23 activities, only 1 remained unrealized.

The Ministry of Defense, within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 4 objectives with a total of 23 activities, of which 7 have remained unfulfilled.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 6 objectives with 149 activities. Unfortunately, despite our insistence, we have not received a response from the office of the secretary of this ministry regarding the implementation of the work plan.

Pristine, 16 March 2021 – Levizja FOL monitored the Annual Work Plan of the Government of Kosovo with its 15 Ministries and the Office of the Prime Minister, which based on the implementation of the plan show that there was a low level of implementation of activities which were scheduled to be completed by 2020. This monitoring shows that The Annual Work Plan of the Government for the period January-December 2020 was realized only 42%.

Erblin Hoxha, project coordinator at the FOL Movement, said that the ministries that managed to implement over 90% of the work plan are; Ministry of Local Government, Ministry of Regional Development and Ministry of Returns and Communities.

The Ministry of Economy and Environment within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 9 objectives with 89 activities, of which 38 have remained unfinished.

The Ministry for Communities and Returns within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 4 objectives with 12 activities where only 1 remains unfinished.

The Ministry of Regional Development within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 3 objectives with 18 activities, of which 1 has remained unfinished.

The Ministry of Health within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 5 objectives with a total of 29 activities. Of the 29 planned activities, 14 have remained unfinished.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare in the framework of the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 2 objectives with a total of 10 activities. 4 of them have remained unrealized.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 6 objectives, a total of 71 activities. There are 19 activities left unfinished.

The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 4 objectives with a total of 56 activities, of which 31 have remained unfinished.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs in the framework of the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 8 objectives with a total of 159 activities, of which 72 have remained unfinished.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development in the framework of the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 2 objectives with a total of 20 activities. Of the 20 planned activities, 12 have remained unfinished.

The Ministry of Finance in the framework of the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 5 objectives with 51 activities throughout the year. Of the 51 planned activities, 10 have remained unfinished.

The Ministry of Infrastructure within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 5 objectives with a total of 30 activities, of which 16 have remained unfinished.

The Office of the Prime Minister, within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 28 objectives with a total of 166 activities, of which it has realized only 73 activities.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 6 objectives with 46 activities, where 33 activities remain unfinished.

The Ministry of Justice, within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 5 objectives. Within these 5 objectives, a total of 52 activities were foreseen to be realized, but 24 activities remained unfulfilled.

The Ministry of Local Government, within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 3 objectives within which 23 activities were planned to be realized. Out of 23 activities, only 1 remained unrealized.

The Ministry of Defense, within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 4 objectives with a total of 23 activities, of which 7 have remained unfulfilled.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology within the annual work plan of the Government for 2020, has planned to achieve 6 objectives with 149 activities. Unfortunately, despite our insistence, we have not received a response from the office of the secretary of this ministry regarding the implementation of the work plan.

Prishtinë, 08 March 2021 – The FOL movement with the support of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) has analyzed data from the declaration of assets of public officials regarding the possession of the assets of public officials and the wives of public officials. To discuss the findings of this report were invited Edi Gusia, Chief Executive Officer of the Agency for Gender Equality, Office of the Prime Minister and Luljeta Demolli, Executive Director, Kosovo Center for Gender Studies. Also online was Daniel Brown, director of the KAS office for Kosovo and Macedonia.

Mexhide – Demolli – Nimani executive director for the FOL Movement said that the purpose of this report is to reflect upon the conditions of the official public women and the women of the public officials in the declaration of property on behalf of both spouses, but also the participation of the wife as owner in the donated inheritance or (individually) purchased property. “This report includes the deputies of the last two legislatures of the Assembly, the government cabinets of the Haradinaj government, Kurti and Hoti, as well as the mayors,” she said.

Daniel Brown – office director of KAS- in Kosovo and Macedonia said that economic equality is very important in order to reach women equality.

Alba Jakupi from FOL Movement presented findings reports and she said:

In Hoti Government – only 36% of ministers have assets on the name of their wife’s, while 18.5% of deputy ministers have assets the on name of their wife’s: This government has had 3 women ministers, two of whom have assets on their name while one does not.

In Kurti Government, 85% of former ministers have assets on the name of their wife’s, 50% of deputy ministers have assets on the name of their wife’s. In this government, 50% of women ministers have assets on their name, while 33% of deputy ministers have assets on their name.

In Haradinaj Government, 25% of former ministers have assets on the name of their wifes’s, while 50% of former deputy ministers have assets on their wife’s name. This government has had only one women minister, which had assets on her name, said Jakupi.

Edi Gusia, the head of Gender Equality Agency in the prime minister office, said that Family law recognizes property created after marriage as property belonging to both spouses, unfortunately they are not yet aware to register in the name of both spouses. “I am glad that 55% of mayors have registered assets in the name of their spouses, even though no woman leads at the municipal level,” said Gusia.

Meanwhile, Luljeta Demolli – director of the Kosovo Center for Gender Studies, said that in Kosovo the division of heritage is not satisfactory and as she says, this shows that there are still remnants of patriarchy in families and institutions. “The division of wealth is a division of power, so it can be seen that in Kosovo this power does not belong to both sexes equally,” she said.

Lëvizja FOL (FOL Movement) with the support of the USAID Program – Transparent, Effective and Accountable Municipality, opens the call for applications for the “Speak Up on Procurement” Award.

Monitoring public procurement by journalists directly or indirectly will push relevant institutions to review their working methods in order to be more transparent and accountable in spending public money.

Therefore, to encourage investigative journalism in the field of public procurement, FOL will award three prizes for articles published by investigative journalists in this field who have reported irregularities and abuses through public procurement procedures. The first prize will be 500 euros, the second 300 euros and the third will be 200 euros.

Who can apply?

Journalists that work in Kosovo, as freelancers or employed by media registered in Kosovo.

– Articles must be published for all forms of journalism (print, internet, radio and TV) broadcast in Kosovo media in the official language.

– Articles/stories submitted for application must be published during the calendar year 1 January – 31 December 2020.

Application/Nomination Procedure:

– Apply by sending the article, the publication link and a brief bio of the applicant to the email: [email protected], with the subject “Application/nomination for the FOL award for procurement”

Deadline for application:

– The deadline for application is no later than 19.03.2021 11:59pm.

Evaluation:

The “Speak up on Procurement” Award Jury will consist of media experts and experts in the field of public procurement.

Deçan, 2 March 2021 – The ad-hoc coalition and the civil society organization held a press conference today, on which occasion the answers to the lawsuit filed by the Kelkos company against the activists Shpresa Loshaj were submitted.

Adem Lushaj, activist from Decan read a statement sent by Shpresa Loshaj which says: “This aggressive lawsuit against me is clearly showing that Kelkosi has a lot to hide and cover, for this they are being released in extreme measures. They are suing me for facts that we as Deçanas have had in front of our eyes for almost 10 years, but they are also documented by public institutions, the People’s Advocate and civil society. But the more they are trying to cover the overwhelming evidence of their crimes over the Deçan Gorge, the more they are sliding down. They sued me because they probably thought I would be alone, but we testified differently. Thank you tens, thousands of citizens from Kosovo and the diaspora for support messages, providing professional assistance, financial and everything possible just to protect ourselves from Kelkos. I want to assure you that their attempts to silence us do not frighten us, but only strengthen our resolve, and unite us even more in defense of our country and our democracy, and we will not stop #DERINEFUND!”

Meanwhile, lawyer Rina Kika said that Kelkos had sued environmental activist Shpresa Loshaj and asked her to pay (1) 100,000 euros in damages for reputation damage; (2) to apologize publicly for the statements made and 3) to refrain from such statements in the future. Kelkos claims, among other things, that Shpresa, based on no facts, has publicly stated (1) that Kelkos has produced electricity for years without an environmental permit and (2) that Kelkos has degraded the environment in the Decan Gorge. All declarations of Hope are based on facts and are protected by the freedom of expression protected by Article 40 of our Constitution. “The Declaration of Hope that Kelkos has produced electricity for years without an environmental permit and without a license is based on the monitoring report of the company Kelkos Sh.p.k. dated 14 December 2016, issued by ERO. In this report it is ascertained that in the absence of the environmental permit ERO has not issued a license for operation and that despite this Kelko has continued with the operation of HPP Deçani and HPP Belaje, without license and without environmental permit. In the Annual Report 2018, ERO ascertains again that from April 1, 2016 Kelkos has continued commercial operation without an environmental license. Therefore, the statements of Shpresa that Kelkos has produced electricity for years without environmental permits are statements based on facts and are protected by freedom of expression “, said Kika, adding that Shpresa has used her constitutional right to express herself freely on an issue with public interest such as the protection of the environment and water, therefore today we have submitted the response to the lawsuit and we have asked the Court in Deçan to reject the lawsuit as unfounded.

Mexhide Demolli Nimani, said that it is the second time that we as civil society are in front of this court building in Deçan, to support the activists sued with the SLAPP lawsuit and unfortunately the lawsuit comes from the same company, only the names of the activists change and the figures required as compensation. “Today I represent here the voice of over 75 NGOs and activists of dozens of civil society organizations which support Hope in this case, as well as the Adriatic last year. “In addition to supporting Hope, we also express our concern about the trend of using SLAPP lawsuits against activists and journalists. “We consider that the SLAPP lawsuits, if successful in court, would pose a threat to democracy and the right to freedom of expression.” Civil Society will continue to monitor and support such cases and will continue to work to combat SLAPP lawsuits.

 

Pristine, 11 February 2021– Levizja FOL  has continued to monitor the publication of judgments by all Kosovo courts. During the monitoring of judgments published on the website of the Kosovo Judicial Council for January 2021, 1628 judgments were published. FOL has also monitored the judges with the most judgments published for each court.

During January, the court with the most published judgments is the Basic Court of Prishtina, which has published a total of 342 judgments. This court (together with the branches in Lipjan, Podujeva, Gllogovc, Gracanica) has published 135 civil cases, 163 criminal, 5 economic and 39 administrative. Meanwhile, regarding the judges with the most judgments published in the Basic Court of Prishtina are: Avdirrahman Gashi (27 judgments), Shefshet Baleci (26 judgments), Selman Salihi (22 judgments), Fisnik Nuli (20 judgments), Hidajete Gashi (19 judgments).

The Basic Court of Mitrovica (together with its branches in  Skënderaj, Vushtrri, Zubin Potok, Leposavic) has published a total of 165 judgments: 57 civil and 108 criminal cases. The judges with the most published judgments are: Rrahman Beqiri (36 judgments), Sladjana Gabic (22 judgments), Agron Maxhuni (22 judgments), Gëzim Ademi (21 judgments), Naim Meholli (19 judgments).

The Supreme Court (including the Special Chamber and the Appellate Panel) has issued a total of 131 judgments. Of these, 94 are civil, 14 criminal, 1 economic and 22 administrative.

The five judges with the most published judgments are: Teuta Ibrahimi (35 judgments), Sabri Halili (20 judgments), Hasim Sogojeva (18 judgments), Hajrie Shala (16 judgments), Jelena Krivokapic (7 judgments).

The Court of Appeals (together with the Mitrovica Appeals Division) has issued a total of 91 judgments: 82 civil, 9 criminal, and no economic or administrative cases.

The judges who have published the most judgments in this court are: Makifete Saliuka (20 judgments), Valon Totaj (16 judgments), Kujtim Pasuli (12 judgments), Gëzim Llulluni (11 judgments), Nora Bllaca-Dula (9 judgments).

The Basic Court of Ferizaj (together with the Kaçanik and ërtrpce branches) has published a total of 148 judgments: 39 civil and 109 criminal cases.

The five judges with the most published judgments were: Adem Shabani (14 judgments), Fitore Daci (14 judgments), Shabi Idrizi (14 judgments), Zajrete Muhaxhiri (13 judgments), Imri Sejda (12 judgments).

The Basic Court of Gjakova (together with the branches Malisheva and Rahovec) has published a total of 205 judgments: 61 civil and 144 criminal cases.

The five judges with the most published judgments were: Mizahir Shabani (21 judgments), Diana Sina (20 judgments), Ilirjana Hoti (20 judgments), Malsor Kryeziu (20 judgments), Drilon Haraçia (19 judgments).

The Basic Court of Gjilan (together with the branches Viti, Kamenica and Novobërdë) has published a total of 124 judgments: 74 civil and 50 criminal cases.

In the Basic Court of Gjilan the five judges with the most published judgments are: Rilind Sermaxhaj (18 judgments), Florije Qerimi (15 judgments), Mirvete Alidemi (13 judgments), Gazmend Ajvazi (11 judgments), Sadri Krasniqi (10 judgments).

The Basic Court of Prizren (together with the Dragash and Suhareka branches) has published a total of 120 judgments: 11 civil and 109 criminal cases.

The judges with the most published judgments are: Qemail Suka (20 judgments), Shpresa Emra (15 judgments), Refik Piraj (11 judgments), Sebahate Kurteshi (10 judgments), Arjeta Gashi (10 judgments).

The Basic Court of Peja (together with the Klina and Istog branches) has published a total of 302 judgments: 80 civil and 222 criminal cases.

The judges with the most published judgments are: Violeta Husaj Rugova (37 judgements), Arben Mustafaj (24 judgements), Sulltan Dobraj (22 judgements), Murat Hulaj (22 judgements), Sami Sharaxhiu(22 judgements).

Pristine, 15 January 2020 – Levizja FOL together with the support of KFOS will engage in monitoring the implementation of public administration reforms. Public administration reform is an essential process for strengthening the transparency and accountability of public institutions, which is a prerequisite for preventing corruption and abuse of office. In this regard, the FOL Movement has identified 10 priority measures of public administration reforms for 2021 that are of particular importance for the fight against corruption. These reform measures are derived from the strategic framework of public administration reforms, mainly the Strategy for Modernization of Public Administration 2015-2020 and the Sectoral Reform Contract for Public Administration Reform between the Government of Kosovo and the European Commission. The FOL movement will advocate for the implementation of 10 priority reform measures and will monitor the work of institutions in their implementation.

Each reform priority measure will be assessed on whether it has been implemented, not implemented or has progress towards implementation. Depending on the assessment, which will be based on data to be provided by the FOL Movement research, the organization will issue an overall note of the performance of the Government of Kosovo in implementing public administration reform in 2021.

The development of this monitoring and evaluation card has the dual purpose of encouraging the government to achieve concrete results in public administration reforms that are of particular importance in the fight against corruption and to focus the monitoring work of civil society in the implementation process of reforms in public administration.

Priority reforms with focus from the FOL Movement:

• Percentage of implementation of short-term measures by the National Program for the Implementation of the SAA
• Percentage of sector strategies / policies, concept papers and primary laws adopted by the government in 2020 that have been subject to public consultation in accordance with the Minimum Standards for Public Consultation
• Establishment of the Department for Management of Public Officials in the Ministry of Internal Affairs
• Initiate the implementation of centralized recruitment in the civil service in accordance with the Law on Public Officials
• Implementation of application and electronic testing for admission to the civil service of the Republic of Kosovo
• Approval by the Government and submission to the Assembly of the necessary legal measures so that special administrative procedures that conflict with the Law on General Administrative Procedures are repealed or harmonized.
• Implementation of the first wave of agency rationalization in accordance with the action plan and concept paper approved by the Government.
• Suspension of public officials who have been indicted or under investigation for corruption-related offenses
• Removal from public office of officials who have been convicted of corruption-related offenses
• Publication of the report on disciplinary measures taken against civil servants for violations of ethics and anti-corruption legislation.

 

Handbook-with-10-response-scenarios-for-whistleblowing-cases-in-the-private-sector

Guideline-for-whistleblowing-in-private-sector

Failures of the Assembly in Functionalizing the Information and Privacy Agency

Pristina 10 november 2020 – FOL Movement and BIRN Kosovo with the support of USAID Kosovo – Program for Strengthening the Justice System, have implemented a project to increase transparency in the judicial system of Kosovo, for 17 months. The success of this project is presented numerally through the following infographic.

 

Prishtinë, 24 tetor 2020 – Lëvizja FOL dhe BIRN Kosova me mbështetjen e USAID-Programi për Fuqizimin e Sistemit të Drejtësisë prezantojnë të dhënat nga monitorimi i publikimit të aktgjykimeve në të gjitha Gjykatat e Kosovës. Përmes infografikave në vazhdim ju mund të shihni publikimin e të gjitha aktgjykimeve nga të gjitha gjykatat e Kosovës për muajin shtator  2020.

Sqarim: Monitorimi i publikimit të aktgjykimeve për periudhën 1 shtator – 30 shtator 2020 është bërë për të gjitha gjykatat e Kosovës. Në fokus kanë qenë departamentet penale, civile, ekonomike dhe administrative. Po ashtu, ky monitorim ka përcjellë publikimin e aktgjykimeve sipas gjyqtarëve të gjykatave dhe departamenteve. Kryetari i Gjykatës Supreme, Apelit, kryetarët e gjykatave themelore si dhe gjyqtarët e Divizionit për Kundërvajtje nuk janë përfshirë në këtë monitorim.

Gjatë monitorimit të aktgjykimeve të publikuara në ueb-faqen e Këshillit Gjyqësor të Kosovës për periudhën e lartpërmendur është vërejtur se në total janë të publikuara 1,530 aktgjykime, po kaq aktgjykime FOL dhe BIRN kanë shënuar në bazën e të dhënave.

Edhe gjatë muajit shtator është vërejtur se gjykatat kanë publikuar aktgjykime për gjyqtarët të cilët janë avancuar në pozita më të larta, kanë kaluar në departamentin e kundërvajtjes apo kanë dalë në pension. Kjo është arsyeja pse ka dallime në numrin e gjyqtarëve në gjykata dhe numrin e gjyqtarëve që kanë publikuar aktgjykime gjatë muajit shtator.

*Mohim i përgjegjësisë: Ky monitorim është mundësuar me mbështetjen e popullit Amerikan përmes Agjencisë së Shteteve të Bashkuara për Bashkëpunim Ndërkombëtar (USAID). Përmbajta e këtij artikulli është përgjegjësi vetëm e Lëvizjes FOL dhe BIRN Kosova dhe jodomosdoshmërisht reflekton këndvështrimet e Agjencisë së Shteteve të Bashkuara për Bashkëpunim Ndërkombëtar apo Qeverisë së Shteteve të Bashkuara.

Pristina, 18 September 2020 – FOL Movement and BIRN Kosovo with the support of USAID – Justice System Strengthening Program (JSSP) present monitoring data on the publication of judgments in all Kosovo Courts. Through the following infographics you can see the publication of all judgments by all Kosovo courts for august 2020.

 

 

Clarification: The publication of judgments during the period of August 1-31, 2020 was monitored for all Kosovo’s courts focusing on criminal, civil, commercial, and administrative departments. Additionally, this monitoring covered the publication of judgments according to judges from all courts (including their branches) for the abovementioned departments. The President of the Supreme Court; President of the Court of Appeals; Presidents of the Basic Courts; and the Judges from the Division for Minor Offences are not included in this monitoring.

During the month of August it has been noticed that courts have published judgments made by judges who have been promoted to more senior positions, have been transferred to Minor Offence Division, or have retired. These shortcomings were noted during a detailed verification by BIRN and FOL.

*Disclaimer: This monitoring was made possible by the support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The content of this article is the sole responsibility of FOL Movement and BIRN Kosova and does not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government.

Pristina, 20 August 2020 – FOL Movement and BIRN Kosovo with the support of USAID – Justice System Strengthening Program (JSSP) present monitoring data on the publication of judgments in all Kosovo Courts. Through the following infographics you can see the publication of all judgments by all Kosovo courts for July 2020.

 

Clarification: The publication of judgments during the period of June 1-31 of July, 2020 was monitored for all Kosovo’s courts focusing on criminal, civil, commercial, and administrative departments. Additionally, this monitoring covered the publication of judgments according to judges from all courts (including their branches) for the abovementioned departments. The President of the Supreme Court; President of the Court of Appeals; Presidents of the Basic Courts; and the Judges from the Division for Minor Offences are not included in this monitoring.

During the monitoring of judgments published in the Kosovo Judicial Council’s website, for the above-mentioned period, it has been noted that there is a total of 1,391 judgments. During the month of July it has been noticed that courts have published judgments made by judges who have been promoted to more senior positions, have been transferred to Minor Offence Division, or have retired. These shortcomings were noted during a detailed verification by BIRN and FOL.

*Disclaimer: This monitoring was made possible by the support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The content of this article is the sole responsibility of FOL Movement and BIRN Kosova and does not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government.

Pristina, 22 July 2020 – FOL Movement and BIRN Kosovo with the support of USAID – Justice System Strengthening Program (JSSP) present monitoring data on the publication of judgments in all Kosovo Courts. Through the following infographics you can see the publication of all judgments by all Kosovo courts for June 2020.

 

Clarification: The publication of judgments during the period of June 1 to June 30, 2020 was monitored for all Kosovo’s courts focusing on criminal, civil, commercial, and administrative departments. Additionally, this monitoring covered the publication of judgments according to judges from all courts (including their branches) for the abovementioned departments. The President of the Supreme Court; President of the Court of Appeals; Presidents of the Basic Courts; and the Judges from the Division for Minor Offences are not included in this monitoring.

During the monitoring of judgments published in the Kosovo Judicial Council’s website, for the above-mentioned period, it has been noted that there is a total of 1,633 judgments published, or 3 more than BIRN and FOL have in their database. This difference in is due to a double publication of judgments. Additionally, during the month of June it has been noticed that courts have published judgments made by judges who have been promoted to more senior positions, have been transferred to Minor Offence Division, or have retired. These shortcomings were noted during a detailed verification by BIRN and FOL.

*Disclaimer: This monitoring was made possible by the support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The content of this article is the sole responsibility of FOL Movement and BIRN Kosova and does not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government.

Pristina, 20 June 2020 – FOL Movement and BIRN Kosovo with the support of USAID – Justice System Strengthening Program (JSSP) present monitoring data on the publication of judgments in all Kosovo Courts. Through the following infographics you can see the publication of all judgments by all Kosovo courts for May 2020.

Clarification: The publication of judgments during the period of May 1 to May 31, 2020 was monitored for all Kosovo’s courts focusing on criminal, civil, commercial, and administrative departments. Additionally, this monitoring covered the publication of judgments according to judges from all courts (including their branches) for the abovementioned departments. The President of the Supreme Court; President of the Court of Appeals; Presidents of the Basic Courts; and the Judges from the Division for Minor Offences are not included in this monitoring.

 

During the monitoring of judgments published in the Kosovo Judicial Council’s website, for the above-mentioned period, it has been noted that there is a total of 802 judgments published. Additionally, during the month of May it has been noticed that courts have published judgments made by judges who have been promoted to more senior positions, have been transferred to Minor Offence Division, or have retired. These shortcomings were noted during a detailed verification by BIRN and FOL.

*Disclaimer: This monitoring was made possible by the support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The content of this article is the sole responsibility of FOL Movement and BIRN Kosova and does not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government.