It analyzes the judicial reform process in the region of the Western Balkans, especially for the transition countries that are in the process of being integrated in the European Union. The new mechanisms and institutions established by the reforms are analyzed to identify the solutions to the problems of the judiciary system in those countries. After the fall of the communist regimes, the countries have undergone reforms to establish new judicial systems in a democratic separation of power. However, the system needs to be extensively reformed, to fight corruption and strengthen the judicial power in a rule of law.The paper responds to the constitutional concerns and challenges of new mechanisms, set up by the reform, in order to find correct and effective solutions. Although each Western Balkan country has its own reform process, the presence of and assistance offered by the international community is a common feature. In addition to the analysis of the institutional changes, the role of international factors is treated as a guarantee, in two phases, during the process of drafting the reform and during the process of its application. The analysis focuses on Albania, which underwent the most recent reform of the judicial system, assisted by the International Monitoring Operation.Why such extensive reforms? Are the societies in crisis during this transition period toward democracy? Although these countries are committed to the European Union, the judicial system is involved in a crisis of integrity and non-independence. This type of crisis weakens the judicial power and public trust in the system. Through the study of these aspects of the reform, the paper responds to some of the questions raised in this framework.

Constitutionalism under Stress reflects on comparative constitutionalism in Central and Eastern Europe through the work of eminent constitutional scholar Wojciech Sadurski. The book examines the current decline of liberal democracies and populist challenges to the rule of law in the region - events that Sadurski predicted early on in his writings about Jörg Haider affair in Austria and the introduction of Article 7 TEU by the Amsterdam Treaty. Sadurski's work has chronicled the transition from concern for the most basic of human rights under authoritarian rule to the challenges of democratic governance. The compelling rights discourse of an earlier period gave way to claims of abuse of majoritarian prerogatives as the hopes of liberal democracy encountered the power of illiberalism. The theoretical responses offered for the preservation of liberal democracy, in light of the current turbulence regarding the rule of law in the region, produces a far reaching and effective reference tool on matters of constitutional capture and illiberal democracy.

"At the end of the 20th century, and at the dawn of the 21st, the United Nations was tasked with the administration of justice in territories placed under its executive authority, an undertaking for which there was no established precedent or doctrine. Examining the UN's legal and judicial reform efforts in Kosovo and East Timor, this volume argues that rather than helping to establish a sustainable legal system, the UN's approach detracted from it, as it confused ends with means."--Publisher's description.

Judicial Cosmopolitanism: The Use of Foreign Law in Contemporary Constitutional Systems offers a detailed account of the use of foreign law by supreme and constitutional Courts of Europe, America and East Asia.

Today, more than fifteen years after the end of the wars that accompanied Yugoslavia's dissolution, the "Balkan question" remains more than ever a "European question". In the eyes of many Europeans in the 1990s, Bosnia was the symbol of a collective failure, while Kosovo later became a catalyst for an emerging Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). In the last decade, however, the overall thrust of the EU's Balkans policy has moved from an agenda dominated by security issues related to the war and its legacies to one focused on the perspective of the Western Balkan states' accession to the European Union. This Chaillot Paper, which features contributions from authors from various parts of the region, examines the current state of play in the countries of the Western Balkans with regard to EU accession. It brings together both views from the Balkans states themselves and overarching thematic perspectives. For the first time the European Union has become involved in the formation of new nation-states that also aspire to become members of the Union. The EU's transformative power has proved effective in integrating established states; now it is confronted with the challenge of integrating new and sometimes contested states. Against this background, this paper makes the case for a concerted regional approach to EU enlargement, and a renewed and sustained commitment to the European integration of the Western Balkans.

This volume casts a fresh look on how the political spaces of the Western Balkan states (Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania) are shaped, governed and transformed during the EU accession process. The contributors argue that EU conditionality in the Western Balkans does not work ‘effectively’ in terms of social change because rule transfer remains a ‘contested’ business, due to veto-players on the ground and strong legacies of the past. The volume examines specific policy areas, salient in the enlargement process and to a different degree incorporated in the accession criteria, as well as EU foreign policy in the spheres of post-conflict stabilisation, democratization and the rule of law promotion.

Why are carefully designed, sensible policies too often not adopted or implemented? When they are, why do they often fail to generate development outcomes such as security, growth, and equity? And why do some bad policies endure? World Development Report 2017: Governance and the Law addresses these fundamental questions, which are at the heart of development. Policy making and policy implementation do not occur in a vacuum. Rather, they take place in complex political and social settings, in which individuals and groups with unequal power interact within changing rules as they pursue conflicting interests. The process of these interactions is what this Report calls governance, and the space in which these interactions take place, the policy arena. The capacity of actors to commit and their willingness to cooperate and coordinate to achieve socially desirable goals are what matter for effectiveness. However, who bargains, who is excluded, and what barriers block entry to the policy arena determine the selection and implementation of policies and, consequently, their impact on development outcomes. Exclusion, capture, and clientelism are manifestations of power asymmetries that lead to failures to achieve security, growth, and equity. The distribution of power in society is partly determined by history. Yet, there is room for positive change. This Report reveals that governance can mitigate, even overcome, power asymmetries to bring about more effective policy interventions that achieve sustainable improvements in security, growth, and equity. This happens by shifting the incentives of those with power, reshaping their preferences in favor of good outcomes, and taking into account the interests of previously excluded participants. These changes can come about through bargains among elites and greater citizen engagement, as well as by international actors supporting rules that strengthen coalitions for reform.