TIRANA, MAY 15, 2013     Albanian President, Bujar Nishani, opened this year’s National Court Leadership Conference organized by USAID’s Albanian Justice Sector Strengthening Project (JuST) in co-operation with the OSCE Presence in Albania and in partnership with the High Council of Justice and the Ministry of Justice. Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy, Henry Jardine, and the Minister of Justice, Eduard Halimi, also made opening remarks. 

The conference focused on highlighting practical solutions for improving the management of cases and court operations, which are important components in strengthening the efficiency, transparency and accountability of the Albanian judiciary.

Leading the discussions at the conference were guest speakers, Honorable Hanne Sophie Greve, Vice President of the Gulating Court of Appeals, Norway, and former judge at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, and Honorable Truman A. Morrison, Senior Judge at the District of Columbia Superior Court, United States, who has handled countless cases of family, domestic violence, and civil and criminal cases since 1979, and is actively involved in judicial education for more than twenty-five years.

The participants included the chief judges of the first instance and appellate courts, members of the Supreme and Constitutional Courts, and members of the High Council of Justice.

USAID JuST, which began in October 2010, is a five-year project aimed at increasing court transparency, fairness and efficiency; bolstering watchdog and anticorruption roles of civil society organizations and media; and strengthening the legal profession and education in Albania.

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