Skare-Ozbolt was speaking at a two-day conference of justice ministers from South-East European countries.
The conference, focusing on the building of institutions of the rule of law in the 21st century, pooled representatives from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, and Serbia and Montenegro.
The next conference, which will focus on land registers and training of judges, will be held in the first half of next year, during Austria's EU presidency. Croatia will present its model of reforms at the conference, the minister said, pointing to the Croatian model of judicial academy, the only such model in the region.
The promotion of cooperation between countries in the region and the European Union is very important as there can be no legal security without a more effective fight against corruption and organised crime, Skare-Ozbolt said.
The Vienna conference was organised by the Austrian Justice Ministry in cooperation with the European Commission, whose vice-president and commissioner for justice, freedom and security, Franco Frattini, said that the judiciary sector was crucial for the development of countries, as well as for their integration with the EU.
Austrian Justice Minister Karin Gastinger said that during its presidency of the EU, which starts on 1 January, 2006, Austria would attach special attention to the Western Balkans.
She added that the Western Balkan countries had to build independent and efficient judiciaries that would be adjusted to European standards.