Working Group for Chapter 23 – Justice Reform in Progress: The Role of the School of Magistrates and Judicial Integrity in the EU accession process, 20 June 2025

Justice reform remains a cornerstone of Albania’s EU accession process, with the integrity of the judiciary and the role of the School of Magistrates playing a decisive part in meeting key milestones outlined in the European Commission Country Report. Thus, on June 20, 2025 a roundtable was held in Tirana on Chapter 23 – Judiciary and Fundamental Rights, with a focus on the role of the School of Magistrates and strengthening judicial integrity in Albania. This event brought together representatives from the School of Magistrates, civil society actors, and foreign missions in Albania, to exchange experiences and discuss the importance of ethics and training in building a more accountable and professional judiciary. The roundtable was organized by the European Movement in Albania (EMA), and the School of Magistrates, within the National Convention for European Integration (NCEI) supported by the European Union.

In her opening remarks, Borana Mustafaraj, Head of Professional Training at the School of Magistrates in Albania, highlighted the importance of reform on justice and the essential role the School of Magistrates plays in advancing justice reform. She emphasized that the School of Magistrates must operate with openness, maturity, and a strong commitment to integrity. Furthermore, a consistent and unified understanding of judicial values, she noted, is key to ensuring that reforms take root and are effectively implemented across the system. These ideas and values are deeply interconnected and must be advanced together to create a credible and effective justice system.

Gledis Gjipali, Executive Director of European Movement Albania (EMA), highlighted that this was the first activity organized in cooperation with the School of Magistrates. He emphasized that the judiciary plays a central role within the institutional framework and that cooperation between non-state actors and the School of Magistrates is essential to the reform’s success. This collaboration, he noted, is important for all professionals who wish to have a voice, stay informed, and contribute to matters of significance – especially those related to judicial integrity. He concluded by emphasizing that, while the project on Building Partnerships on Fundamentals, financed by the EU and implemented by EMA with its partners, centered on Cluster 1 – Fundamentals of the EU acquis, its scope has since expanded in response to rapid developments, highlighting the need for a more qualitative and substantive approach as Albania awaits the forthcoming EU (Progress) Report.

Borana Mustafaraj, focused on the evolving role of the School of Magistrates in promoting integrity among future magistrates. Reflecting on the past 28 years of the school’s history, she described the shift from oral entry exams, seen as lacking objectivity and fairness, to fully anonymous written tests designed to ensure impartiality. While essay components were once included, they were ultimately removed due to concerns over bias, expression, and subjectivity. The reform efforts also introduced multiple control mechanisms, including psychological assessments and integrity checks, although challenges around standardization and fairness remain. She emphasized that reforming the entry and training processes at the School of Magistrates is not just about changing procedures but about embracing a new approach grounded in transparency, accountability, and the expectation of long-term improvement of judicial integrity. Mustafaraj stressed the importance of having a shared language around integrity within public institutions, especially in a country where distrust in institutional fairness has deep roots. She noted that oral examinations may still have value, particularly if overseen by a properly composed jury capable of evaluating candidates’ suitability for public office without bias. This would require careful thought about how juries are selected and how they compare candidates fairly. Finally, Mustafaraj addressed how the curriculum is being reshaped to reflect real-world complexities and unconscious bias. The school has worked with international partners, including experts from France, to design training environments that expose future magistrates to ethical dilemmas and scenarios where their impartiality is tested. She emphasized that integrity is not static but must be built and reinforced continuously, especially through soft methodologies, including training on gender and other sensitive issues like ethics. The aim is to prepare magistrates to navigate the societal context they operate in with professionalism, fairness, and resilience – starting from their first day in office.

Pavol Žilinčik, Lecturer of Judicial Academy of the Slovak Republic and Member of Judicial Selection Committee, focused on the importance of ethics and integrity in judicial reform, drawing on Slovakia’s national experience as both a cautionary tale and learning experience. He explained that while Slovakia’s institutional framework appeared solid on paper, emphasizing separation of powers and structural safeguards, its 2006 collapse revealed how a lack of ethical grounding and personal interests can undermine even well-designed systems. Žilinčik discussed that Albania, Ukraine, and Slovakia can share valuable lessons with each other, particularly in navigating the fragile balance between reform and ethics. That said, he acknowledged that Albania’s ongoing reforms actively incorporate integrity into both training and overall institutional identity. Furthermore, Žilinčik explained how different countries structure their ethics codes and judicial training. He argued that failure to prioritize ethics can lead to dead-end reforms – those that bring institutional change on paper but fail to reshape underlying cultures and behaviors, which was previously seen in Slovakia. In contrast, the expert argues that “transformative reforms” are the better approach, which focus not just on systems, but on the people and norms. Such reforms, though more demanding and long-term, are essential for lasting integrity. He also discussed the practical side of ethics in the judicial space, referencing dilemmas such as recusals, public affiliations, and criticisms of judicial decisions. He emphasized that while having a strong code of ethics is important, ethics must go beyond written words – it should provide active guidance, meaningful support, and space for ongoing dialogue around ethical dilemmas. This is key for ethics infrastructure. Quoting Muel Kaptein, he remarked, “code is nothing, coding is everything,” stressing that an ethics code should function as a living framework for reflection and discussion, not simply a static list of rules. Žilinčik also explored the complex and often debated concept of integrity, posing key questions about its definition and relationship to ethics. Does integrity have only one definition? Is it something that can be developed and measured? Is it a component of ethics, or is ethics a part of integrity? These questions, he emphasized, are fundamental for not only judicial reform, but to the judiciary as an institution. For this reason, transparency, thorough preparation, and a strong ethical foundation are critical, because if reforms lack substance or are poorly designed, they risk ultimately collapsing under their own weight.

Closing discussion focused on the methodology used to select candidates for the School of Magistrates, particularly in relation to age limits and the weight given to academic and post-university qualifications. Questions were raised as to whether current criteria sufficiently reflect a candidate’s full professional formation and if early-stage assessments alone are adequate for long-term judicial integrity. The need for a more comprehensive and consistent approach was discussed, especially considering the broader vetting processes already in place for sitting magistrates. Additionally, the relevance of vetting for newly appointed candidates and the role of the School of Magistrates in ensuring integrity at the entry level were key points of deliberation. The need to have a solid judicial framework based on good practices from the EU Member States, rather than radically changing the system, was further stressed. Also, ethics and its importance in judicial reform was further discussed.

**This roundtable takes place within the framework of the project “Building Partnership on Fundamentals: Empowered CSOs in the EU accession process”, with the financial support of the European Union – IPA Civil Society Facility 2021, which is implemented by the European Movement in Albania and in cooperation with the Academy of European Integration and Negotiations (AIEN), Slovak Foreign Policy Association (SFPA) and the Center for Transparency and Free Information (CTFI).