During the period of May 09-14, 2010, BILI hosted a group of attorneys from Kosovo – members of the Chamber of Attorneys in Kosovo and of the special MCLE Committee. The study trip was organized together with World Learning Kosovo and the programme in Kosovo of the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI). Main purpose of the visit was for the colleagues from Kosovo to get acquainted with the different models of Mandatory continuing legal education (MCLE) for lawyers in Bulgaria. Special accent was put on the MCLE for attorneys. With this regard, BILI organized meetings with d-r Pencho Penev, Director of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and other representatives of the Institute, Mrs. Daniela Dokovska, President of the Supreme Bar Council (SBC), Mr. Trayan Markovski, Head of the MB of the Attorneys Training Center (ATC) “Krastyu Tconchev” and Prof. Alexander Djerov, Executive Director of ATC. The colleagues from Kosovo had the possibility to observe and learn details about the organization and the carry out of the training process at the NIJ, ATC, as well as at the Union of Lawyers in Bulgaria (UOL) and other private providers. Furthermore, during the intensive discussions, they were able to obtain information about the Bulgarian experience in MCLE, the difficulties faced and the challenges of the process.
The overall evaluation of the study visit was very high and the attorneys from Kosovo have expressed their willingness to continue working in cooperation with BILI.