June 2009

Representatives of legal institutions and civil society discuss the implementation of Kosovo’s family law.

After a four-month assessment of the implementation of Kosovo’s family law, a Gjakova-based women’s association found that courts were operating in accordance with the law. During a May 14 roundtable, 35 participants discussed the findings.

The assessment, financed by the ABA Rule of Law Initiative’s (ABA ROLI’s) small grants initiative, involved monitoring municipal courts in Gjakova, Klina, Deçan, the District Court in Peja and Safe House, the center for social work in Gjakova.

“We closely followed the procedures during court sessions, while concentrating on their efficiency, quality of proceedings, legal deadlines, law application in practice, etc. and we didn’t notice any irregularities,” said Valbona Rizvanolli. The association monitored 35 cases—12 cases in the Municipal Court of Gjakova, 15 cases in the Municipal Court of Deçan, four cases in Peja’s District Court and four cases in Safe House in Gjakova. The cases included 16 domestic violence, 10 child custody, four alimony, four parent verification and one inheritance cases.

During the event, Kathy Ladun, ABA ROLI interim country director, stressed ABA ROLI’s commitment in supporting initiatives that will help promote the rule of law. Teuta Haxhiu, Gjakova’s deputy mayor, thanked the parties that made this assessment and the roundtable possible.

“It is the obligation of all of us, institutions and civil society, to do our best for building a democratic and functional society,” said Haxhiu. Other roundtable participants included municipal and district court judges, local lawyers, police, and representatives of the social work center. The participants called for more discussions. The local TV station, Syri, and journalists from daily newspapers covered the event.

To learn more about our work in Kosovo, contact the ABA Rule of Law Initiative at <rol@staff.abanet.org>.