08.20.2007
The Kosovo Chamber of Advocates (KCA) Assembly approved the proposed amendments to the Code of Professional Ethics (“Code of Ethics”) for Lawyersand the KCA disciplinary system during its regular annual assembly held on July7, 2007, in Pristina. The approval of the proposed amendments represents the completion of extensive work by the KCA Ethics and Discipline Committee tomake the Code of Ethics consistent with provisions and to develop a functionaldisciplinary system. The Rule of Law Initiative and the United StatesAgency for International Development (USAID) provided technical advice for thework of the KCA Ethics and Discipline Committee.
The preparatory work on the amendments included a detailed and comprehensive examination of the existing disciplinary system and rules, as well as the studyof disciplinary systems for lawyers from various countries in Europe, the EU,and the United States. A study visit of a KCA Ethics and Discipline Committee delegation to Ireland, sponsored by USAID and implemented through World Learning, was conducted in May 2007 for the purpose of learning the attorney disciplinary system,
The main revisions of the newly adopted disciplinary system of the KCA include: the entitlement of individuals and individual lawyers to directly file disciplinary complaints to the appropriate disciplinary bodies of the KCA; the introduction of lay persons into the disciplinary bodies of the KCA; and theinternal publication of the decisions of disciplinary bodies of the KCA dealingwith serious disciplinary violations.
The KCA Assembly also elected members of disciplinary bodies. Selecting lay persons through a special electoral procedure will be the nextstep for the KCA Executive Board.
For more information, please contact Fatmir Kutllovci at: [email protected]