Kosovo Law Reform Project

DLA Piper began work in 2005 to assist Kosovars in conjunction with the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, the National Center for State Courts, the US Government and the Council of Europe in drafting laws creating an independent judiciary and system of prosecution. The mission of DLA Piper lawyers was to help Kosovars define their new legal system, not to impose points of view on them. Along with assistance in legislative drafting, DLA Piper lawyers have provided training on legislative drafting, advocacy, and ethics to lawyers in the newly-created Kosovo Ministry of Justice. All lawyers on the Kosovo project team have spent time in Kosovo ranging from a few days to more than four months. As the draft laws move through the legislative process, DLA Piper has been asked to return to Kosovo to help ensure passage of the legislation and to provide ongoing training and support to the Ministry of Justice and to the bodies that will administer the independent judiciary and prosecution systems.

Sheldon Krantz facilitates an advisory group reviewing the draft Law on Courts.	Advisory group meeting on the Law on Courts in Pristina, Kosovo
Sheldon Krantz and Ken Starling help facilitate an advisory group meeting on the Law on Public Prosecution.	Ken Starling and Sara Andrews provide legislative drafting training to lawyers in the Ministry of Justice.
Ken Starling and Ministry of Justice lawyers	Eric Henry and Stan Adelman prepare for a training on persuasive advocacy.
Sara Andrews and John Vukelj with the legal officers in the Ministry of Justice.	Sara Andrews and Eric Henry in Kosovo's main square.
View of Pristina, Kosovo's capital city

Click here to read associate Sara Andrews' account of her four-month stay in Kosovo working on the Kosovo Law Reform project.