SEEU Hosts an International Conference on Judicial Reforms and Anti-Corruption Practices

‘We are determined to process all cases and same to have a final judicial epilogue,’ said Katica Janeva, the Chief Prosecutor of the Special Prosecution of Macedonia. She was speaking at the first scientific conference in the field of justice and social sciences on the topic: ‘Judicial Reforms and Anti-Corruption Practices: Challenges, Prospects, and Transfer of Experiences.' The conference was held on 30 June 2017 at the Tetovo campus of South East European University. She said that she felt privileged to attend this conference at this university and that she was ready not only to attend, but also to make a concrete contribution together with the institution and the team which she is leading.

The Provost of SEEU, Prof. Dr. Andrew Goodspeed, officially opened the conference and said that we as university are proud of this place and welcome this conference. In brief remarks he made several reflections regarding corruption, noting that it seems evident that corruption is analogous to cancer, in the sense that it metastasizes wildly wherever it appears.

The Conference was jointly hosted by the Faculty of Law of South East European University, and the Max van der Stoel Scientific Research Institute of this university.

The Law Faculty Dean, Prof. Dr. Emine Zendeli, said that the purpose of the conference was to gather in one place scientists, researchers and all other relevant factors to reflect on corruption, which in the Balkan region has found a very suitable soil.

‘The main factor in combating corruption is the awareness of everyone about this dangerous phenomenon’ said Dean Zendeli.

The Director of the Max Van der Stoel Research Institute, Prof. Dr. Veton Latifi, opened his address with a quote from the former US Vice-President Joe Biden, who said: ‘Fighting corruption is not just good governance, but it is also a patriotic duty’.

“Corruption destroys everything in the state system”, said Latifi.

Rae Woods, Associate Deputy Attorney General with the USA Embassy in Skopje, spoke about US experiences in fighting corruption. She illustrated cases of fighting corruption in various US states, such as Texas and Illinois, and other cases where the US Attorney General has acted.

“I consider the fight against corruption very important, so today I am here in Macedonia to share our experience”, said Woods.

The conference, under the moderation of Professor Besa Arfi, continued with the discussion section where Chief Prosecutor Janeva and Deputy Attorney General Woods responded to participants' questions, and a constructive and reflective debate on corruption and fight against it took place.