The Commencement Ceremony of Initial Legal Education Program for the Second Generation of the Candidates for Judges and Prosecutors

On 16 September 2009, the Kosovo Judicial Institute organized the solemn ceremony, noting the commencement of Initial Legal Education Programfor the second generation of the candidates for future judges and prosecutors of Kosovo.

The presence of the President of Kosovo Republic Mr. Fatmir Sejdiu, and many other state personalities of the KosovoRepublic , leaders of the judicial institutions, representatives of international community in Kosovo supporting the justice system and representatives of regional judicial training centres, honoured this ceremony.

At the opening of the ceremony, the Director of the Kosovo Judicial Institute, Mr. Krasniqi said, “today starts a new phase in the development of the Kosovo Judicial Institute and the judicial system. In order to get to this day in history, Kosovo Judicial Institute had to take a very long, difficult and challenging journey. Therefore, out of 325 applicants that took the exam, only the top 34 candidates with the highest scores were selected to attend the Program for the Professional Preparation of future generations for judges and prosecutors. According to the law, the only roadmap towards becoming a candidate for judge or prosecutor is attending of mandatory training delivered by the Kosovo Judicial Institute.

Prof. Dr. Vesel Latifi, President of the KJI Managing Board, in his speech emphasised, “the Kosovo Judicial Institute through implementing this programme will support the Judicial System in Kosovo by producing new generations of judges and prosecutors. This programme notes the new way of recruiting future judges and prosecutors, who prior of shall be trained by the Kosovo Judicial Institute. Although, the Kosovo Judicial Institute is an independent body, established by Law from the Kosovo Assembly, its training activities are implemented in close cooperation with the Kosovo Judicial Council and Ministry of Justice. At the end of his speech, Prof. Dr. Vesel Latifi, expressed his gratitude to the OSCE Mission in Kosovo and other present donors, such as, the Director of the UNDP for Kosovo, Director of the USAID, etc. 

The presence of the President of the Kosovo Republic , Mr. Fatmir Sejdiu,honoured and magnified this ceremony. Who among other issues in his speech emphasized, “We have gone through the initial testing, especially through the efforts in establish a strong foundation for the judicial reform, now we entered the most crucial and sensitive phase for Kosovo, therefore, we shall commit ourselves to succeed”. Whereas, about the work done by the Kosovo Judicial Institute, the President stressed out the need for the “further development of the institute’s training capacities and its transforming into the permanent Judicial TrainingAcademy , likewise the other international countries.   

Ms. Lirije Osmani, Chairperson of the Kosovo Judicial Council, said, “today’s event is another example of cooperation between Kosovo Judicial Council and Kosovo Judicial Institute in the preparation of future generations of judges and prosecutors, as a permanent task and of special importance for the rule of law”.

The Deputy Minister of Justice, Mr. Arsim Janova, in his speech emphasised “in order to build the State of Kosovo in line with the highest European democratic standards, the rule of law is required above all”.In addition to, he congratulated the Kosovo Judicial Institute for the professional work and the role that this institution is playing in the area of judicial training, saying, “I’m convinced that this programme of legal education will be successfully completed and in concluding his speech he wished successful training to the candidates”. 

Moreover, the representatives of UNDP, USAID, OSCE Mission in Kosovo, found that this program marks the beginning of a new way of recruitment of judges and prosecutors, that prior of being appointed shall be prepared by the Kosovo Judicial Institute. All aforementioned representatives have stressed out that KJI will not be alone during this process, but will enjoy their full support.

At the end of the ceremony, a special edition of course modules was symbolically presented by the President of Kosovo Republic Mr. Fatmir Sejdiu, to the candidate who achieved the highest score during the Preparatory/Entry Exam,.

The first training class dedicated to the candidates for new judges and prosecutors will commence on 18 September 2009 and continue for 15 months.