NOSA-s Good Governance and Rule of Law three year strategy (2006-2008) designates the right to due process and human rights protection as a priority area. One of the main objectives in the strategy relates to efforts to make sure that everybody is guaranteed access to due process and that human rights are observed and respected. Therefore, due process and human rights have been made the concentration area of the three year work by the Institute for Policy and Legal Studies (IPLS), the NOSA member organization implementing the Rule of Law component.

The project “Reinforcing due process and human rights standards” falls under NOSA’s Rule of Law Program and has three major components:

- Access to justice
- Due Process standards
- Transparency of the judiciary

The objectives will be attained through:

- Assessing the legal framework and contemporary standards in the field of the judiciary,
- Monitoring the situation through the survey of court users in four pilot courts and direct observations of court proceedings and procedures,
- Advocacy and lobbying activities to eliminate breaches of the law and standards and reinforce best practice.

Until the end of the first half of 2006, the first phase of the project aimed at assessing the legal framework and the observance of democratic standards had been carried out.

IPLS staff and outside experts worked to implement the first phase of the project. The following documents served as the basis for building the approach and activities under the project:

- Constitution of the Republic of Albania
- European Convention on Human Rights
- Code of Civil Procedure of the Republic of Albania
- Code of Penal Procedure of the Republic of Albania
- Freedom of Information Law

During the month of April the Project Team was involved into intensive group discussions to review, correct and consolidate the work done individually so far. At the end of these discussions the team agreed on the final edited version of the IPLS Report which constitutes the product of the first phase of its work under the NOSA strategy of Good Governance and Rule of Law.