A Week In Macedonia

Having just returned from a week in Skopje, Macedonia, where I was meeting with the local Supreme Court Justices to learn more about how judicial reform has recently shaped their country and how it can be used to improve the systems in developing nations (and feasting on all the local heavy meat dishes), I am thankful to be home. The country is beautiful, with lakes and mountains, and a river right through the center of the city, and the people were friendly and welcoming. Most importantly, the mission of meeting with USAID projects there and learning from local judges was accomplished.

Macedonia has undergone significant and successful judicial reform, funded primarily by USAID and the Open Society Institute (George Soros’ foundation) and implemented by DPK. The reform has involved rewriting of the procedural codes and redrafting many aspects of the constitution that governed the judiciary. There has also been training of judges and court staff on ethics, court management, caseflow reduction, and the usage of technology. Finally, the infrastructure of the courts have been improved to facilitate the efficiency and capacity of the judiciary to carry out its tasks. The lessons learned from the case study will be incorporated into the USAID technical guide that I am responsible for creating. The guide is the next in the series of technical publications drafted to assist democracy and governance field officers implement court reform. The USAID technical publication series can be found here.