The first-ever European Union funded twinning project in support of Albania’s School of Magistrates was launched on Monday, 30th of September 2024. Thanks to this initiative, Albanian magistrates will have the opportunity to benefit from the expertise of the French National School of Magistrates (ENM), the Italian School of Magistrates, (SSM) and the Netherlands Training and Study Center for the Judiciary (School for Training of Judges and Prosecutors SSR).
This EU-funded project aims to strenghthen the efficiency, integrity, and professionalism of the Albanian justice system by improving the capacity of th School of Magistrates and enhancing the skills of Albania’s judges and prosecutors.Running from 2024 to 2026, the project focuses on three key areas: initial training, the continuous training programme, and admission exams.
The twinning projext’s primary beneficiaries are the School of Magistrates, its pedagogical and administrative staff, and magistrate candidates, while the broader Albanian society and justice system stakeholders will ultimately benefit from the improved judicial capacities. The project also targets professionals involved in developing training curricula and materials, working in close collaboration with the School, project leaders, and the Resident Twinning Advisor (RTA) to ensure sustainable improvements in the justice sector. Close cooperation and synergies will be saught with other EU projects in support of the judiciary such as EU4Justice project.
Participants to the event included key note speakers : the Ambassador of the European Union to Albania, Minister of Justice, Chair of Supreme Court, Chairs of HJC and HPC, Ambassador of France and Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Deputy Ambassador of Italy, Director of the SoM, Deputy director of French SoM; representatives of the three schools of magistrates –partners in the twinning, magistrates, SoM students and experts from various projects in the judiciary area including experts from EU4 Justice.