OSCE assists administrative courts, juvenile treatment

TIRANA, Nov. 25 – A training workshop was held last week for administrative court judges who are in the initial stage of implementing the administrative justice system in Albania. It was organized by the OSCE Presence and the Magistrates’ School.
Administrative courts in Albania were only established at the beginning of November, and the workshop aimed at giving the newly-appointed judges a better understanding of the new procedural elements introduced by the Law on Administrative Courts.
The OSCE has assisted in the drafting of the law on administrative courts law in 2012 and will continue supporting the transition from the common court system to a specialized administrative court one with unique procedural rules. It will also help preparing a manual on administrative justice.
The OSCE also organized training for 20 probation officers from across the country and the General Directorate of the Probation Service. The aim was to help probation officers improve their understanding of the specifics of working with juvenile offenders and to boost chances of their social reintegration.
It focused on familiarizing probation practitioners with effective practices for the offenders’ community-based treatment, to help them develop treatment programs tailored to the minors’ performed risk and needs assessments.