TIRANA, MAY 12, 2011     Today, USAID and the Albanian Chamber of Advocates signed a cooperation agreement to establish a Continuous Legal Education (CLE) program in Albania.  USAID/Albania’s Mission Director, Mr. Joseph Williams, and the Chairman of the Albanian National Chamber of Advocates (NCA), Mr. Maksim Haxhia, signed a Memorandum of Understanding that outlines USAID and NCA activities to establish the program over the coming years. The CLE program is an important pillar of justice sector reform in Albania and will help strengthen Albania’s legal profession.

The CLE program will help train and increase the professional standards of Albanian lawyers that are closer to European standards. With technical support from USAID’s Albanian Justice Sector Strengthening Project (JuST), the CLE program will initially be piloted in the Regional Chambers of Vlora and Durres, and then rolled out nationally in 2013.

USAID’s five year Albanian Justice Sector Strengthening Project (JuST) aims to increase court transparency, fairness and efficiency; bolster watchdog and anticorruption roles of civil society organizations and media; and strengthen the legal profession and legal education in Albania.