Support to consolidation of Justice Reform in Albania-EU4Justice II

EU4Justice II is a restricted service tender launched by the European Commission (ENEST) to consolidate Albania's 2016 Justice Reform by providing technical assistance and capacity building to courts, prosecution offices, legal training institutions, judiciary governance bodies and the Ministry of Justice. The contract is estimated at up to €13,000,000 for a 48-month implementation period (2027–2031) and is organized around four pillars: judicial efficiency, judicial independence and accountability, quality of justice and legal education, and transparency and access to justice. Eligible applicants include natural persons and legal entities established in EU Member States or eligible IPA III countries, as well as international and regional organisations, with submissions required via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. The deadline for requests to participate is 14 August 2026 at 23:59 Tirana time.

Opportunity type and authority

Tender summary

Service contract tender launched by the European Commission (ENEST - Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood) to implement EU4Justice II, a follow-up to EU4Justice I, supporting consolidation of the 2016 Justice Reform in Albania.

What it funds:Technical assistance and capacity building across the judiciary, prosecution, legal training institutions, Ministry of Justice and subordinate bodies covering four integrated pillars: judicial efficiency; independence and accountability; quality of justice and legal education; transparency and access to justice ¹.

1. 1Contract type: service contract for technical assistance
2. 2Planned duration: 48 months (implementation period 2027 2031)
3. 3Estimated contract value: up to €13,000,000
4. 4Geographical focus: Albania
5. 5Objective: support EU integration and Chapter 23 aligned benchmarks

Who can apply:organisations or consortia able to deliver complex technical assistance in the justice sector (international and local experts, legal training providers, institutional capacity building contractors); tender rules and selection criteria apply as per the procurement documents.

How to apply:submit an electronic tender via the Funding and Tenders Portal. Refer to the procurement notice and invitation documents for qualification and award criteria ¹.

Footnotes

1. 1Tender details and documents available on the Funding and Tenders Portal Tender page.

Opportunity summary

The European Commission (ENEST - Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood) has published a call for tenders titled Support to consolidation of Justice Reform in Albania - EU4Justice II. It is a services contract under IPA 2025 to continue EU4Justice I (2023-2026). The contract foresees provision of technical expertise and implementation support to Albanian judicial and justice-related institutions for a four-year implementation period (2027-2031). The estimated maximum contract value is €13,000,000.00 and the procurement procedure is conducted through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. The project is structured around four integrated pillars: judicial efficiency, judicial independence and accountability, quality of justice and legal education, and transparency and access to justice.

Contracting authority:European Commission, ENEST - Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood (lead contracting authority).

Procurement reference and type:Procurement ID EC-ENEST/TIA/2026/EA-RP/0043. Nature of contract: services. Main CPV codes: 75231000, 75231100, 75100000, 75110000.

Key administrative dates and timeline

Financial information

Estimated contract value:Up to €13,000,000.00 (estimated overall contract amount).

Funding source and programme:EU funds under IPA framework (Pre-Accession), programme context: PreAccession Countries / New Member States.

Scope, objectives and activities

Objective:Support consolidation of the 2016 Justice Reform in Albania by providing technical expertise and implementation support to the judiciary (courts and prosecution offices), legal training institutions (including the Faculty of Law), governance institutions of the judiciary, the Ministry of Justice and subordinate bodies (legal aid, bailiffs), and legal professions (National Chamber of Advocates, Chamber of Mediation). The intervention aims to consolidate achievements from EU4Justice I, promote EU best practices, and support Albania's progress in EU accession negotiations, notably related to Chapter 23 obligations.

1. 1Pillar 1: Judicial efficiency
2. 2Pillar 2: Judicial independence and accountability
3. 3Pillar 3: Quality of justice and legal education
4. 4Pillar 4: Transparency and access to justice

Eligibility and applicants

This is a public procurement tender (services). Applicants must follow the tender documentation and submission rules available on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. The procurement is not labelled SME-suitable. The tender documents include an Invitation to submit a request to participate and related forms. Participation and qualification requirements, selection criteria and award criteria are set out in the tender documents; bidders must consult those documents for detailed eligibility and required certificates, financial and technical capacity thresholds, and administrative compliance.

Eligible applicant types:Typically eligible bidders for EU service contracts of this nature include consortia of international and national firms, NGOs, consultancy companies, law and justice sector experts, research institutions, universities, and possibly joint ventures combining legal and institutional reform expertise. The procurement documents specify exact eligible legal forms, exclusion and selection grounds and will indicate whether single entities or consortia are permitted or required.

Consortium requirement:The tender documentation invites requests to participate and associated forms; procurement of this size and multidisciplinary scope typically permits and expects consortium bids to cover wide-ranging technical expertise. The official documents should be consulted to confirm whether a single tenderer or consortium is required or preferred.

Geographic eligibility / beneficiary scope:Benefitting zone explicitly: Albania. Procurement is launched by the European Commission and therefore open to economic operators established in eligible countries according to the Procurement Documents and EU rules; bidders should verify whether operators from EU Member States, EEA, candidate and third countries are eligible as per the tender dossier.

Technical and thematic focus

Target sectors and thematic areas:justice sector reform, rule of law, judicial administration, prosecution support, legal education and training, judicial governance, access to justice, transparency, legal aid, bailiff services, mediation and legal professions. Activities will include technical assistance, capacity building, policy advice, training development and delivery, exchange of experience, support for adoption of EU best practices, and assistance in meeting accession negotiation benchmarks (Interim and closing benchmarks).

Expected project stage and maturity:Implementation and consolidation stage: projects and interventions should be ready to deliver operational technical assistance, capacity building and policy support (demonstration, implementation, and capacity consolidation rather than early-stage research).

Application and submission

Application type and method:Open tender published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Submission method: eSubmission via the Funding and Tenders Portal is required. The call includes an Invitation to submit a request to participate and a request-to-participate form (b3_req_part_form_en_V1.docx) and an additional information contract notice PDF (a5f_additional_information_contract_notice_en_V1.pdf).

Application templates and documents provided:The procurement publishes at least two documents at call launch: b3_req_part_form_en (request to participate form, Word) and a5f_additional_information_contract_notice_en (PDF). Tenderers must consult the full procurement dossier in the portal for the technical specifications, selection criteria, exclusion and eligibility forms, model contracts, and administrative requirements. These documents contain the precise structure and templates for the submission and support forms.

Award criteria, selection and evaluation

Awarding criteria indicated in the procurement metadata show a quality versus price split with quality at 80 and price at 20 (please consult procurement documents for detailed sub-criteria and scoring). Selection and exclusion rules, minimum capacity thresholds, and required supporting evidence are set out in the tender dossier.

Number of application stages:The procedure includes at least a request to participate stage followed by submission of a full tender. The published metadata references a two-stage process (request to participate and tender submission). Exact number and sequencing of stages are defined in the procurement documents.

Success rates:Not specified in the call. As a large single-award public procurement, the success rate depends on the number of compliant bids received; historically success rates in single-award EU tenders vary widely and cannot be reliably estimated from the published notice.

Co-funding and contract modalities

This is a service contract procured and funded by the European Commission; there is no indication in the procurement notice that external co-financing by the contractor is required. Financial modalities, invoicing, payment procedures and other contractual conditions are specified in the contract documents. Electronic order and payment usage indicators are set to true in the post-award process metadata.

How to prepare a compliant bid

1. 1Register and sign in on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal and obtain any required credentials for eSubmission.
2. 2Download and carefully read all procurement documents, including Invitation to submit a request to participate, technical specifications, selection criteria, templates, and model contract.
3. 3Complete the request to participate form (b3_req_part_form_en_V1.docx) and provide requested supporting evidence for exclusion, selection and capacity criteria.
4. 4Assemble a multidisciplinary team or consortium with experience in judicial reform, legal training, public administration reform, and EU accession support; include CVs, references and relevant project descriptions.
5. 5Prepare a technical offer demonstrating methodology, workplan, staffing and approach mapped to the four pillars and to Chapter 23 accession benchmarks.
6. 6Prepare a financial offer in accordance with the pricing rules in the procurement documents and ensure transparency and compliance with the 20 weighting for price.
7. 7Ensure compliance with all administrative and legal requirements stated in the tender dossier and submit by the eSubmission deadline.

Mentioned countries and geographic references

Explicit country mentioned:Albania. The contracting authority is the European Commission and the programme context is IPA / Pre-Accession for candidate countries; bidders should consult the tender dossier for eligible bidder nationalities and any restrictions related to third countries.

Risks and considerations

Complexity and scale:Large value, multi-year service contract requiring high-level judicial reform expertise, robust consortium management and proven capacity to deliver across multiple institutions. Compliance: Strict procurement rules and documentation obligations apply; incomplete submissions will be excluded. Political sensitivity: Work touches on judicial independence and EU accession benchmarks and will require careful stakeholder management and security and confidentiality considerations.

Documents and links

Primary publication and full procurement dossier are on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal at the tender details page: Support to consolidation of Justice Reform in Albania - CN.

Key procurement documents published with the call include:b3_req_part_form_en_V1.docx (request to participate form) and a5f_additional_information_contract_notice_en_V1.pdf (additional information). Clarifications may be published up to 2026-07-02.

Consult the Funding & Tenders Portal for full technical specifications, model contract, selection and award criteria, and supporting templates before preparing and submitting a bid.

Footnote:Tender metadata, documents and estimates are taken from the EU Funding & Tenders Portal publication for this procurement; bidders must rely on the official procurement dossier for definitive requirements and figures ¹.

Comprehensive summary

This procurement is a high-value, multi-year service contract launched by the European Commission to finance EU4Justice II, a follow-up programme to EU4Justice I. Its main objective is to consolidate the Justice Reform of 2016 in Albania by providing technical assistance, capacity building and policy support across the justice ecosystem: courts, prosecution, judicial governance, Ministry of Justice and subordinate bodies, legal professions and legal education institutions. The action is explicitly aligned with Albania's EU integration process and Chapter 23 accession obligations. The tender is published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal, carries an estimated contract value of up to €13 million for a 48-month implementation period (2027-2031), and requires eSubmission via the Portal. Interested bidders should form multidisciplinary teams or consortia able to address judicial efficiency, independence and accountability, quality of justice and legal education, and transparency and access to justice. The procurement dossier available on the portal contains the request-to-participate template, additional information, the technical specifications, and all administrative and contractual requirements necessary to prepare a compliant offer.

Footnotes

1. 1Source: Support to consolidation of Justice Reform in Albania-EU4Justice II. EU Funding & Tenders Portal procurement details and documents. Publication date 2026-06-18. Link: Tender details.

Opportunity Overview

EU4Justice II is a restricted service tender with an estimated value of €13,000,000, aimed at consolidating Albania's 2016 Justice Reform through technical expertise and capacity building for the judiciary and governance institutions ¹.

The project is the continuation of EU4Justice I (2023–2026) under IPA 2025, with an implementation period of four years from 2027 to 2031, directly supporting Albania's EU accession negotiations and Chapter 23 obligations ².

Contract Value:Up to €13,000,000.00 for a service contract ³.

Duration:48 months (2027–2031) ⁴.

Key Project Pillars

The project is structured around four integrated pillars targeting the most challenging issues of the reform: judicial efficiency, judicial independence and accountability, quality of justice and legal education, and transparency and access to justice ⁵.

1. 1Judicial Efficiency: Reducing backlog and improving case management
2. 2Judicial Independence and Accountability: Strengthening governance bodies like the High Judicial Council
3. 3Quality of Justice and Legal Education: Enhancing training for judges, prosecutors, and law faculty
4. 4Transparency and Access to Justice: Improving legal aid, bailiff systems, and public trust

Target Beneficiaries

Technical expertise will be provided to Courts, Prosecution Offices, the Faculty of Law, governance institutions of the judiciary, the Ministry of Justice, and subordinate bodies including legal aid, bailiffs, and the National Chamber of Advocates ⁶.

Eligibility and Application Requirements

Eligible applicants include natural persons and legal entities established in EU Member States or eligible IPA III countries, as well as international and regional organisations ⁷.

Applications can be submitted by a single entity or a consortium, with the award criteria weighted at 80% for quality and 20% for price ⁸.

Deadline for Requests to Participate:14 August 2026 at 23:59 (Tirana time) ⁹.

Strategic Context and EU Integration

The project aligns with the Rule of Law Roadmap and supports Albania's progress toward meeting Interim and Closing Benchmarks for Chapter 23 (Justice and Fundamental Rights) in accession negotiations ¹⁰.

It aims to consolidate best EU practices developed in EU4Justice I and ensure the irreversibility of the 2016 reform through enhanced institutional capacity and alignment with EU acquis ¹¹.

Contact and Procurement Details

The contracting authority is the European Commission, ENEST (Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood), with the procedure identifier EC-ENEST/TIA/2026/EA-RP/0043 ¹².

Interested parties should consult the official procurement documents on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for detailed technical specifications and submission guidelines ¹³.

Footnotes

1. 1Official Tender Details: EU4Justice II Tender
2. 2Project Description and Timeline: Evergabe Tender Summary
3. 3Estimated Contract Value: Development Aid Tender View
4. 4Duration and Period: Evergabe Tender Summary
5. 5Four Key Pillars: EU4Justice II Tender
6. 6Target Beneficiaries: EU4Justice II Tender
7. 7Eligibility Criteria: Development Aid Tender View
8. 8Award Criteria Weighting: EU4Justice II Tender
9. 9Submission Deadline: Evergabe Tender Summary
10. 10Strategic Alignment: Action Document for Albania
11. 11Consolidation of Reform: EU4Justice II Tender
12. 12Contracting Authority and Identifier: Evergabe Tender Summary
13. 13Official Portal: EU Funding & Tenders Portal