EU says Kosovo judiciary still weak

Kosovo’s judiciary is still too weak to handle the challenges it faces, and its reform capabilities are too fragile, EULEX said in a report on Friday (June 4th). The Programme Report 2010 is based on 12-month surveillance by EULEX monitors placed within Kosovo justice, police and customs institutions. “Improvement of the rule of law cannot be solved in a matter of months. This takes time and a lot of hard work, particularly from the institutions that we are working with,” Deputy Head of EULEX Roy Reeve said when presenting the report.

Earlier in the day, the International Crisis Group issued a similar document indicating that 200,000 of a total of 300,000 lawsuits in the country have not been settled yet. According to the ICG, even if no new cases are filed, Kosovo would need over eight years to clear up the backlog at the present rate.