On March 15, 2022, AIRE Centre and the RAI Secretariat organised the training on “Effective Asset Recovery: Judicial Perspective”. The training brought together twenty judges and prosecutors from Albania, offering them an engaging learning format with the leading regional and UK experts, as trainers.

Ledina Mandija, Lawyer and Lecturer at Tirana University Law Faculty and Epoka University, opened the  training by emphasizing the necessity of regional approach and highlighting the importance of the regional network of asset recovery professionals for enabling the comparative analysis, providing experts with relevant resources and ensuring adequate cooperation in the region.

Director of the Magistrate School of the Republic of Albania Arben Rakipi in his opening speech shared information on the implementation of Anti-Mafia Law, Law on Money Laundering and case law examples from Albania.

Professor of the University of Sarajevo, Faculty for Criminalistics, Criminology and Security Studies, Eldan Mujanovic spoke about the international standards and extended confiscation in the regional practice including the good practice examples.

HH Judge Michael Hopmeier from the Southwark Crown Court in London, United Kingdom spoke of the practical challenges and issues that arise in court proceedings related to the money laundering charges.

Mirjana Lazarova Trajkovska, Judge of the Supreme Court of the Republic of North Macedonia shared important points on human rights standards and asset recovery measures from ECtHR case-law perspective. She also outlined the importance of the role of the knowledgeable judges and the professional example they set for their colleagues.

This training is organised under the framework of the three-year regional project “Combating corruption and organised crime in the Western Balkans through strengthening regional cooperation in asset recovery” which started in September 2021. The project, funded by the UK Government, is covering the following jurisdictions: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia. The participation of Bulgaria, Croatia, Moldova and Romania is ensured through RAI.

* This designation is without prejudice to the positions on status and is in line with UNSC 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence