Chairperson Hyseni: We have applied high standards in recruiting, evaluating, disciplining and training prosecutors
Pristina, 17 January 2020 - Chairman of the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council (KPC), Bahri Hyseni, participated in the Annual Conference of State Prosecutors.
At the opening of this conference, on behalf of the KPC, Chairman Hyseni held a speech before the attendees, in which he said, as follows:
“It is a special pleasure for me on behalf of the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council to welcome you to the Annual Conference of Prosecutors.
It has not been long before we have completed a year of work, in which we have achieved many results, which we can be proud of, but we have also begun a year when many challenges ahead await our attention.
Today, when I am here before you, I feel proud of the common achievements and I am also determined to tell you that we will continue to improve the prosecutorial system by applying high standards in recruiting, evaluating, disciplining and training prosecutors.
We will continue to raise the level of accountability, efficiency, quality of case resolution and transparency.
We have consistently had objectives to create better working conditions, sufficient numbers of prosecutors and administrative staff, as well as more modern work equipment, so today, I want to emphasize that we are all witnesses that we have already achieved almost all of these objectives as a Council.
These achievements were not made by themselves, but thanks to the intensive work of the Prosecutorial Council with all its units, such as the Council Committees, the Secretariat and the Prosecution Performance Unit.
We have advanced the planning system, working together, increasing the budget through better planning and more effective spending. Here I would like to emphasize that the budget approved for the prosecutorial system for 2019 is spent 98%, while the Auditor's report of the National Auditor's Office was one of the best so far with only two recommendations, which have been fully implemented.
We have managed for the first time in many years to recruit the planned number of prosecutors and currently have a sufficient number of prosecutors in the system.
We have just completed the appointment of the Chief Special Prosecutor and the Chief Prosecutor of the Basic Prosecution in Prishtina and will soon begin recruiting new prosecutors to replace those who retire.
I would like to emphasize the work currently being done by the Academy of Justice for the initial training of the 12 new prosecutors, who are expected to complete the training soon and start working with cases.
For all recruited prosecutors we have currently recruited the necessary staff and are in the process of recruiting other necessary staff.
The Council, through the Prosecutors Performance Evaluation Committee, has evaluated prosecutors at various levels according to an annual planning and has begun reforming the performance evaluation system. In this regard, we are working intensively with local experts and our international partners to develop a new regulation that will further enhance the performance appraisal system.
Following the entry into force of the Law on the Disciplinary Liability of Judges and Prosecutors, as a Council we have completed all legal obligations, drafting relevant bylaws, established disciplinary panels, approved the new Code of Ethics for Prosecutors and transferred the staff responsible for support panels. I say with full conviction that despite the challenges we have been able to successfully complete the proceedings in some disciplinary cases against prosecutors and have completed them all within the legal deadlines.
Among the major achievements, I would also like to emphasize the advancement of the case management system through the electronic case management system known as CMIS. A lot has been done so far in this regard and I am proud to say that after an excellent work of prosecutors and prosecutorial staff today we accept new cases and work them through this system. We also managed to record all old cases in CMIS for a record time (in 4 months). The Council has a high priority for the application of this system and has made it mandatory for any prosecutor and prosecution staff to implement it.
It is worth noting that the Council has adopted and is implementing the Strategic Plan of the Prosecutorial System 2019-2021, which sets out the three-year objectives of the entire prosecutorial system.
The Council has also adopted the War Crimes Strategy and has established the mechanisms foreseen for the implementation of this strategy, such as: Task Force and monitoring group consisting of representatives of Kosovo Prosecutorial Council, State Prosecutor Office, Kosovo Police and Ministry of Justice. It is worth noting that this document is national in nature and has enabled the War Crimes Department to prioritize cases of this nature.
As a Council, we have worked hard on the professional development of prosecutors, specifying the training needs of prosecutors and administrative staff, and we have currently drafted a special regulation setting out the most advanced principles, criteria and methodologies to better coordinate the training of prosecutors through the Academy of Justice and other partners of the Council and the State Prosecutor Office.
We have also worked intensively to increase the level of security for prosecutors and staff, but we need to do even more to increase the level of security. As a Council, we remain committed to protecting by all means every prosecutor exercising constitutional and legal powers.
I would also like to attribute the merit of our achievements to the support of our partners, who were and are with us in our common path. I respectfully support the US Embassy, the European Union Office, the Norwegian Embassy, the United Kingdom Embassy, and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, UNDP, GIZ, IRZ, the OSCE, and the Council of Europe etc.
We all know that the justice system in general and the judicial and prosecutorial system in particular have gone through various periods of reform. Since the time when the judiciary was administered by internationals and to this day many changes have been made and we can undoubtedly point out that there has been and is a gradual advancement.
The reforms that we have gone through since the post-war were related not only to changes in the basic laws of all areas of law, but also to changes and reforms of the prosecution structure and not only. It was not easy to successfully overcome all the reforms and developments and most of us can remember many of the challenging moments spent in these processes.
In a day like this, we definitely need to remember those reform developments, but also ask ourselves what we can do more to improve our working conditions and position, but we also need to work harder and to provide the citizens of our country with justice.
The past two years have been a long time working on a functional review of the Justice Sector and as an important part of the objectives for change we have set clear objectives for advancement and change. We will work closely with all our partners in this regard and I guarantee that we will protect the best values and interests of prosecutors and prosecutorial staff.
To have the public's confidence in our work we must work non-stop and create an environment where access to justice is easier for all. So, I want to briefly mention that some of the Council's priorities for this year will be.
Strengthening the legal framework and organizational structure of the prosecutorial system;
Increase the level of accountability and permanent control over the work of prosecutors;
Strengthening the integrity of prosecutors and administrative staff;
Improvement of the system of performance evaluation of prosecutors;
Raising the level of transparency;
Advancement of merit recruitment criteria;
Further development of the career promotion system;
Improving the level of management and administration;
Continuous improvement of planning, budget and working conditions;
Professional development of prosecutors and administrative staff and
Better cooperation and coordination with local and international partners;
Finally, I would like to emphasize once again the need for the support of the prosecutorial system by all, because only together we can strengthen an independent, professional, transparent, efficient, effective and accountable prosecutorial system.
Finally I appreciate the great importance of this conference, so thanking everyone who worked in organizing it; I wish you all the best in your work today and success in the future. ”.
