Report on Law Enforcement Bodies in Balkan Countries Released

The paper stresses that in the 1990s the Western Balkans Six (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro) started their transition from the authoritarian and totalitarian regimes to democratic governance based on the rule of law. The police was the first to be subject to reforms: it was gradually transformed from an instrument of the state power into a professional service centered on the protection of the rights of citizens and maintenance of public order. Over the last decades, the region has seen important institutional changes, including the reform of the justice system, establishment of anti-corruption bodies, and adaptation of national laws to the standards of the European Union and international organisations. At the same time, the report highlights that corruption and a poor rule of law remain a serious challenge and a main obstacle to prosperity, stability and democracy despite the multiannual reforms.

The report is focused on analysis of the state of key criminal justice institutions in the region, including judicial, prosecution and specialised anti-corruption bodies. The GI-TOK experts, in particular, analysed the level of independence of these bodies, the procedure for appointing their heads and employees, the functioning of oversight and accountability mechanisms and the extent of influence of political and economic interests which they are subject to. Special attention is paid to practical challenges: protracted processes, insufficient transparency, poor digitalisation, and continuous suspicions of corruption inside the judicial system.

The report is conditionally divided into two semantic parts: the first one is centered on judicial and prosecutorial bodies, and the second one is focused on anti-corruption bodies.

As regards the performance of courts and prosecution service, the dysfunctions of respective bodies are considered, the recommendations on how to enhance the effectiveness of their operation are put forward, as well as concise country profiles about the structure and functioning of the system of relevant bodies are provided, and personalized recommendations on how to increase the effectiveness of their performance are formulated for each jurisdiction.

For instance, with regard to judicial bodies, the GI-TOK report lists the following main conclusions about the challenges to their functioning in the region:

Politicisation of judicial councils (structures responsible for appointing judges and oversee their work) and prosecutorial bodies – the structures responsible for appointing judges and prosecutors are themselves subject to political influence;
Corruption among judges and prosecutors – despite the codes of ethics, disciplinary measures are enforced selectively, which creates an atmosphere of impunity; additionally, it is highlighted that the prosecution service often delays proceedings and allows for plea bargaining in grand corruption cases, which makes an impression of a fight “for show”;
Poor public trust – most citizens consider courts and prosecution bodies as corrupt and dependent;
Insufficient digitalization – the lack of advanced IT-solutions results in a poor defence from cyberattacks and a limited access to court decisions;
Passiveness of professional judicial associations – they are rare proponents of their colleagues’ independence and do not formulate an active position in society.

As for the part of the report concerning anti-corruption bodies, the authors cite international standards of establishment and functioning of such structures, consider common challenges to their operation in the region and put forward the recommendations on how to address these problems. As in the previous part, they also provide concise country profiles about the system of anti-corruption bodies and personalized recommendations on how to increase the effectiveness of their performance for each jurisdiction.

Specifically, the authors identify the following key challenges to the functioning of anti-corruption bodies in the Western Balkan countries:

Limited mandates and resources – in most cases, the activities of such bodies are focused only on prevention, and they do not have sufficient powers to investigate cases and hold perpetrators liable;
Political influence – as judicial councils, anti-corruption bodies are subject to authorities’ pressure, which questions their independence and hampers the efficiency of the fight against corruption;
Lack of cooperation with other bodies – poor coordination with the prosecution service, the police and other structures slows down investigations and hinders effectiveness;
Poor international and regional cooperation – lack of effective mechanisms for information exchange, including with regard to income and asset declarations, which facilitates the concealment of illegal property through cross-border schemes;
Insufficient transparency and accountability – the information about the performance of anti-corruption bodies is not published on a regular basis, and the outcome of verification procedures and investigations are not made public;
Independence from external financing – agencies are often supported by international donors, while national budges do not provide sufficient funding;
Challenges associated with human resources and expertise – insufficient number of well-trained specialists, poor system of professional training and lack of sustainable career mechanisms hamper institutional sustainability;
Poor efficiency and lack of public trust – the operation of anti-corruption bodies in the countries of the region is more often seen as formal with little impact on the real outputs of the fight against corruption, which diminishes public trust.

The report also addresses separately gender representation in law enforcement bodies. In particular, it is stressed that the key managerial positions are still held mainly by men in spite of the fact that the number of women in judiciary and anti-corruption bodies has increased.

*This is the third report in a series of such publications centered on the fight against corruption and organised crime in the Western Balkans. The first report – Infrastructure Of Integrity: Corruption And Anti-Corruption Pledges in the Western Balkans – was issued in 2021, the second one – Organized Corruption: Political Financing in the Western Balkans – in 2023.