The Vlora Bar Association has also lined up against the decision to relocate the State Cadastral Agency from the city of Vlora to Tirana.
According to the Vlora Bar Association, this is "an unacceptable, one-sided and deeply harmful decision for the city, legal professionals and the citizens of this region."
The Vlora Bar Association emphasizes that " this action is not an isolated case, but a continuation of a systematic policy of institutional emptying of Vlora, which has culminated with the removal of the Administrative Court and the Court of Appeal, transforming the city into an institutional suburb with no weight on the map of Albanian justice."
According to the Vlora Bar Association, the removal of state institutions from Vlora constitutes:
-Serious violation of access to justice and public services for thousands of citizens;
-Direct blow to the legal profession, the functioning of the justice system and legal security;
-Open territorial discrimination, which favors extreme centralization in Tirana and abandons the country's historical and strategic cities.
"Vlora, a city of historical, legal and national importance, cannot and should not be treated as a second-class city. Such decisions, taken without consultation with the legal community and without any real analysis of the consequences, constitute a violation of the principles of the rule of law and administrative decentralization ," emphasizes the Vlora Local Bar Association, which is already demanding:
-Immediate review and cancellation of the decision to relocate the State Cadastre Agency;
-Stopping the policy of removing institutions from Vlora;
-The restoration of judicial and administrative functions, necessary for a city of this dimension and importance.
"If this trend continues, the Vlora Local Bar Association reserves the right to take any institutional and legal action, in collaboration with other local and national actors, to protect the public interest and dignity of the city of Vlora."
"Vlora will not remain silent and will not accept being stripped of its institutions," concludes the statement of the Vlora Bar Association.