Arben Lubach
Thesis title:
State-building and penal reform: a study of the prison service in Kosovo
The research critically evaluates the development of Kosovo prison system through the state-building process and identifies to what extent the current system meets defined European standards and whether these European standards, EU best practices respectively, are relevant and appropriate. It also looks at the (side)effects of the international actors involved in the building of the new state of Kosovo and their role in the establishment of the judiciary in Kosovo since the end of the war in 1999 – present. The research will particularly investigate what are the theoretical standards (i.e. laws and procedures) that apply in Kosovo, and how they compare with the evidence of the actual standards? Moreover, it will also examine whether these theoretical and actual prison standards in Kosovo compare with evidence in the literature of standards in the EU in general and the UK in particular – namely the law/theory vs. reality aspect of what prisons are supposed to offer to inmates and what they actually do offer in Kosovo. Also, it will consider what are the perceptions of actual standards and articulated expectations of standards among key stake holders in the Kosovo prison system, particularly amongst prison inmates and other staff central to the operation of the correction system.
Supervisors:
Professor Peter Squires
Dr Denise Martin
Professor John Lea
