Innovators & Influencers
Meet Innovators & Influencers—a network of local rule of law experts available to help navigate the terrain and design activities in their countries and regions
Country & Regional Expertise
- Kosovo
- Western Balkans
- Europe and Eurasia
- Global
Technical Skills & Leadership
- Judicial Reform & Court Administration
- Justice Sector Budget & Financial Management
- Access to Justice & Legal Empowerment
- Digital Justice & Automation
- Alternative Dispute Resolution & Informal Justice
- Legal Education & Professional Development
Favorite Justice Quote
“If we do not maintain justice, justice will not maintain us.” --Francis Bacon
Program Design & Management
With over 15 years of experience in rule of law and judicial reforms in Kosovo, I designed, managed, and implemented a highly complex and politically sensitive rule of law, anti-corruption and commercial law programs and strategic and systems strengthening initiatives in Kosovo that employed people-centered and evidence-based decision-making. I led multi-million donor-funded projects to improve court services, integrate technology into case management, expand the use of alternative dispute resolution, and provide investment security.
Open dialogue and collaborative processes between stakeholders and understanding the needs of the actual users are integral to effective design and implementation. By creating mechanisms and processes to ensure people’s needs and recommendation and incorporating valid points in strategies, laws and policies, despite initial resistance, has opened the doors for major reforms in the legal and business environment, resulting in independent and strong institutions responsive to people.
Keeping up with the fast-paced and ongoing advances in technology and digitization requires modernisation in judicial service delivery, thus in the programs I led, digital solutions were incorporated from the beginning and throughout implementation.
Navigating political attempts to overreach judicial independence, and interfere with decision making, determined frequent use of political economy analysis and data driven designs and interventions in programs.
In my role as a program manager, I am a partner with the implementer, allowing flexibility and responsiveness to the actual needs as they arise. Always there for problem solving, revising work plans and helping simplify reporting and presentations resulting in better understanding of complex language and reforms. Always having in mind the strategic goal, I am armed with patience and conviction that rule of law should be upheld by everyone for everyone.
Innovations & Achievements
Commercial Court of Kosovo: Led the development of Kosovo's first Commercial Court, from strategy and legislation to implementation. Conceptualised as a one stop shop for all business related disputes for local and foreign investors, in the first three years of its existence, the Commercial Court has become an institution of trust, one that resolves disputes in a timely and fair manner regardless of political challenges. The Commercial Court has reduced the case resolution time from over two years to an average of six months, thus increasing efficiency and protecting time value of money.
Mediation Boom: Managed multiple projects focused on increasing the use of mediation in Kosovo to reduce the backlog of cases in courts and provide faster and more amicable dispute resolution. Mediation has become a certified, accountable and respected profession resulting in an increase of eligible cases referred to mediation by courts, and reducing their backlog. Mediation services are now available throughout Kosovo and in all official languages. The use of mediation increased from 79 cases in 2019 to over 10,000 mediated cases in 2024.
Private Enforcement System: Developed the enforcement system for debt collection that annually releases approximately 50 million euros indebted capital into the Kosovo market. Supported the Government of Kosovo in developing the electronic Enforcement Management System - ensuring transparency, accountability and oversight of the enforcement profession and services. The establishment of the private enforcement system also contributed to the safety of the business environment, resulting in the decrease of loan interest rates.
Most Significant Justice Innovation Obstacle
Institutional resistance and lack of openness from courts, ministries, and bar associations, and other actors in the justice space often challenge change and innovation.
Best Practice for Justice Innovation
Collaboration, partnerships, and effective cooperation across government, civil society, academia, and the private sector is a critical element in sparking justice innovation and overcoming institutional resistance.
Most Promising Area(s) for Justice Innovation
Digitisation of judicial services, when grounded in people-centered design rather than technology alone, is one of the most promising and scalable justice innovations for many countries.
Rethinking Design, Delivery, and Financing of Rule of Law and Justice
Future programs should be designed to primarily focus on the needs of the country's judicial system using a people-centered justice approach, which if successful, will be beneficial for the donor country as well as local partners. Programs should be practical, focused, flexible, and adaptable to changes in political, economic and social environments.