Kathleen Imholz
Expert on Law Drafting and Legal Approximation, European Assistance Mission to the Albanian Justice System
Civil Service
Civil Service Commission, performance management, donor relations, patronage, corruption, promotion, recruitment, capacity building
Jona Repishti
Albania
Tirana,
Albania
Wed Jul 16 2008
Abstract
Kathleen Imholz draws from her experience and perspective as a lawyer to analyze civil service reform in Albania, particularly in the context of the 1999 Civil Service Law. She describes some of the supporters and proponents of civil service reform before arguing that the Civil Service Law is unclear and had ambiguous coverage. She highlights the role of the courts and the independent commissions in working with the law but notes that many institutions have become weaker outside the civil service area because of the centralizing tendency. Imholz believes that civil society and media typically play a generally positive role but are not necessarily positive forces in pushing reform. She observes that anti-corruption initiatives have been minimal but does describe a number of other reforms that have been put in place simultaneously with civil service reform. She points to some of the main challenges that civil servants face and notes that motivating people to really want to improve the civil service is always a hard challenge. In general, she believes there is a need to expand the coverage of the civil service law.
Full Profile
At the time of this interview, Kathleen Imholz was an expert with the European Assistance Mission to the Albanian Justice System, where she worked on all aspects of the justice system. From 1999 until October 2005, she worked for several years with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the World Bank as an adviser to the Albanian government and the General Secretary of the Council of Ministers. Before that she taught commercial law as a Fulbright Fellow in Albania and worked on a legal education program in the country.
