Judicial integrity and transparency in focus at regional conference on strengthening judicial responses to organized crime and corruption

A two-day conference, hosted by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro and organized as part of the OSCE’s Western Balkans Trial Monitoring Project, brought together leading judicial representatives and legal experts from across the South-Eastern Europe. Convening judicial actors from all six jurisdictions in the region, the event aimed to address the prosecution and adjudication of organized crime and corruption (OCC) cases in the region.

The conference was a significant platform for collaborative discussions following the release of the first regional ‘Western Balkans Trial Monitoring’ report earlier this year. The report, covering over 300 high-profile OCC cases, revealed the need for stronger judicial co-operation, transparency, and accountability in the region’s fight against organized crime and corruption, while providing a path forward.

The Republic of Serbia made the strategic decision to join the OSCE’s Regional Trial Monitoring Project in 2024, signalling a significant commitment to confronting widespread and systemic corruption and organized crime.  With Serbia’s participation, the Project is extending monitoring activities to all six Western Balkan jurisdictions.

The OSCE is in a unique position to implement this initiative, capitalizing on long experience in the field of trial monitoring in the region and with tested methodologies that have been widely acknowledged as essential by other international actors and national authorities alike. The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has also played an essential role in the process by developing the monitoring methodology in co-operation with the OSCE field operations from the region. The conference served as a space for stakeholders to share best practices, collaborate on solutions, and reinforce regional co-operation against serious and complex cases of OCC.

Matteo de Simone, Policy and Programme Officer in DG NEAR, noted that “Strengthening the rule of law by closing the impunity gap for serious organised crime and corruption is a legal, social, ethical and economic necessity. And it is an essential requirement for advancing in the European integration process.”

The OSCE’s Western Balkans Trial Monitoring Project, launched in 2021 with funding from the European Union’s Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance, is the first regional effort of its kind. The project has been instrumental in fostering co-operation among judiciaries across the region, allowing them to learn from one another and work together toward achieving strategic goals related to judicial reform and the fight against OCC.

Eirini Patsea, OSCE Programme Co-ordinator, emphasized the value of the regional report and the conference during her opening remarks.

“Our findings underscore both the progress that has been made and the challenges that remain,” she said. “This conference is also an opportunity to discuss and collectively drive concrete actions to reform and strengthen judicial systems across the region.”

Three working groups were established to address critical issues including judicial transparency, reform challenges, and sentencing practices.

This conference represents a critical step forward in promoting judicial integrity and transparency, while furthering regional co-operation in addressing one of the most pressing issues facing the South-East Europe today. The outcomes of this expert meeting will guide future reforms aimed at building a stronger, more transparent judiciary across the region.