Albanian School of Magistrates begins new academic year with OSCE Presence support

The School of Magistrates of Albania held a ceremony on 3 October 2011 marking the start of the new academic year for its current and 17 new students, who will become judges and prosecutors at the end of the three-year training course.

The OSCE Presence in Albania monitored the entrance examination process for the second year running, from the written test, which was taken by 244 candidates, to the declaration of results.

Addressing the participants, the Head of the Presence, Ambassador Eugen Wollfarth, emphasized the importance that the School of Magistrates has in preparing future professionals of the judicial system, and the long-standing co-operation between the Presence and the School.

“In my view, the School of Magistrates provides the firmest of foundations for an efficient and transparent justice system in Albania. This is decisive in building a high-quality, functioning justice sector. The OSCE Presence has been an interested observer and supporter in the process of selecting the ‘bricks’ for this foundation through monitoring the entrance examination process,” he said.

The Director of the School of Magistrates, Mariana Semini, said that the aim of the School is to prepare professional judges and prosecutors who respect the principles of independence and impartiality.

Apart from assisting in the selection of new students, the Presence, in co-operation with the School of Magistrates, has also organized specialized training seminars for practicing judges and prosecutors. Most of them were related to the newly-established Probation Service and to the protection of children’s rights, two areas in which the Presence has been actively involved.