Tirana – The European Union and UNOPS officially launched the new EU-funded project EU4Digital Justice: “Support to the Rule of Law through Digital Transformation”. The event at the Europe House premises, gathered high level  representatives from the Ministry of Justice, General Prosecutor Office, High Judicial Council, the Information Technology Center for the Justice System (IT Center), the Swedish Embassy and other key stakeholders.

This transformative initiative aims to assist Albania’s EU accession process by strengthening the rule of law and increasing trust in the justice system in Albania through digital innovation.

With a budget of EUR 7.5 million, the 4-year project aims to address critical challenges in Albania’s justice system, including outdated processes, fragmented case management, and limited use of technology.

The EU Ambassador to Albania, Silvio Gonzato, UNOPS Albania AND Kosovo Country Manager, Sabine Kania, Minister of Justice, Ulsi Manja, General Prosecutor, Olsian Cela and representatives of relevant Albanian institutions, attended the launching ceremony.

The EU Ambassador to Albania, Silvio Gonzato said: “The EU for Digital Justice project is an important milestone in the process of implementation of the reform of the Justice sector in Albania. This is also a key requirement under Cluster 1, which sets the pace for Albania’s EU membership negotiations. The establishment of a modern case management system, in line with EU standards, will help Albanian judicial institutions to improve their performance. Through this project and the overall support of the EU to Albania’s justice reform, has a main objective: providing Albanian citizens with a quality and efficient public service of justice.”

Sabine Kania, UNOPS Albania & Kosovo Country Manager said: “With this project, we aim to create seamless integration of systems, processes and data through digitalization in the justice sector – this will be the technological foundation to modernize the justice system, strengthen the rule of law and ultimately also build greater trust in the legal institutions.”

Ulsi Manja, Minister of Justice said: “Our path towards the EU is based on a radical transformation of the justice system, as one of the main pillars of the rule of law. This vision of the government and our parliamentary majority, forged with the irreversible reform of justice, continues to be strongly supported by our strategic partners, the EU and the US, who have brought us today to another important station – the beginning of the construction of digital justice.”

Olsian Çela, General Prosecutor said: “The world has already entered the digital age, which is characterized by a rapid development of technology, so the challenge of this project will be not only to set up an efficient and effective management system that responds to current needs, but to see the future, enabling its effectiveness over a long period of time.”

By introducing a unified digital case management system for the Prosecutor’s Office and advanced data analytics tools to support transparent and data-driven decision-making, the project will strengthen coordination and accountability. Additionally, it aims to assist in improving the IT Center’s capacity to lead and implement digital reforms across the justice sector to achieve interoperability between different judiciary institutions. This project is expected to contribute to the achievement of concrete results in the judicial reform, provide legal professionals, the public and civil society with faster, more transparent and accessible justice services.

The innovative EU4Digital Justice project will provide the technological foundation necessary to drive long-term improvements and support Albania’s EU integration journey by modernizing and digitalizing the justice system.

About EU4Digital Justice

The EU4Digital Justice project, implemented by UNOPS and funded by the European Union under IPA III with a budget of EUR 7.5 million, aims to transform Albania’s justice system through digital innovation. Over 48 months, the project will establish a modern Case Management System for the Prosecutor’s Office, enhance the Information Technology Center for the Justice System capacity and implement Business Intelligence tools for data-driven decision-making. This initiative seeks to strengthen the rule of law, improve institutional efficiency, and provide faster, more transparent justice services aligned with the EU standards.

About the European Union in Albania

The European Union is Albania’s biggest development partner, providing over EUR 100 million annually in grant assistance to support the Albanian people and help Albania adopt and implement key political, institutional, social, and economic reforms to comply with EU values and progressively align with its rules. Further information on EU-funded projects in Albania and EU-Albanian cooperation can be found at https://www.eeas.europa.eu/delegations/albania_en

About UNOPS

UNOPS mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve peace and sustainable development. We help the United Nations, governments and other partners to manage projects, and deliver sustainable infrastructure and procurement in an efficient way. Read more: www.unops.org