When citizens perceive the court process to be fair and relatively simple to navigate, they are more likely to understand and comply with court orders, regardless of whether they “win” or “lose”.
A recent partnership among USAID’s Justice Activity, the Kosovo Judicial Council (KJC), and two courts, Ferizaj and Mitrovica Basic Courts, is assessing areas to improve citizen’s experiences with the justice system. Court walkthroughs, user surveys, and courtroom user experience observations zeroed in on areas where access was limited or non-existent for people with disabilities. Walkthroughs showed areas where signage needed to be improved or added, the information provided was outdated or confusing, and where court users were unable to navigate the court building or processes without significant help.
As Lekë Muçaj, Public Information Officer with Gjakova Basic Court emphasized, “Navigating through the court as a first-time user and seeing things through the eyes of court users helped us to objectively assess the ease of access and ability to self-direct in all areas of the court. ”
Observers also monitored court hearings to assess how a representative set of judges conducted proceedings, including whether court users received equal treatment regardless of gender, ethnicity, or perceived economic status. Based on the observations of the program, the partnership was able to identify these small but significant changes to the operations of the court to markedly improve the user experience for citizens. These pilots are a first and very significant step forward for the Kosovo judiciary on the path to a people-centered justice approach.
Chemonics for USAID Kosovo