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"In 2023, 7,848 court decisions were given", the head of GJL takes stock: the backlog of cases has decreased

2023-12-29 10:46:07Aktualitet SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
"In 2023, 7,848 court decisions were given", the head of GJL takes
Sokol Sadushi

The President of the Supreme Court, Sokol Sadushi, held today a media conference in the court premises where he made the balance sheet for 2023, as well as listed the priorities for 2024.

During his speech, Sadushi stated that the number of backlog cases has decreased as he added that in 2023, 7,848 court decisions were given, of which 2,931 belong to the Administrative College, 2,689 decisions of the Civil College and 2,228 decisions of the Criminal College.

Referring to these data, Sadushi says that each judge has held for this year a workload of nearly 440 decisions per year, which he calls a record figure.

The full speech of the President of the Supreme Court, Sokol Sadushi:

The year 2023 was very busy, with countless challenges, carried over from the past, with natural tension, but also with prominent successes. The completion of the Supreme Court with 18 judges has made the United Colleges fully functional, as a decision-making body for the change of judicial practice, while the General Assembly of Judges has completed the procedure for electing judges of the Constitutional Court, as well as the President of the Court of Justice. High and Vice Presidents.

Three years ago, when it resumed function with only three members, the Supreme Court was in complete collapse. Let me tell you, the optimists who believed the situation would return to normal were in the minority. The promise at that time is now a part of reality and the skeptics are gradually becoming silent and accepting the product of a work absolutely at the limits of the impossible.

Only in the span of three years of recovery, the number of 24,688 decisions has exceeded the backlog, which is significantly reduced to 24,120 cases. Reducing the high number of backlog cases requires time and a coherent and fruitful strategy, which thanks to cooperation with the project supported by the Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs at the US Embassy in Tirana, has resulted in successful.

The Supreme Court is carrying out the function of delivering justice, through a clear methodology and a high pace of work of the judiciary and support staff, with the main aim of conveying more hope and trust to the public. Different reports, with different methodologies, have reached a common conclusion: the Supreme Court is regarded as the most open and transparent institution within the system.

Being transparent and rejecting closed doors has made the hermeticism dictated by tradition now a thing of the distant past. We are convinced that this is the only way to follow in public communication and a way to guarantee institutional authority and legitimacy, effectiveness in judgment and professionalism of the corps, which has directly influenced the increase of public trust.

Believing that numbers are often like pictures and as the media parlance says, the right picture is worth a thousand words, I'm going to show you some easily verifiable numbers.

For the year 2023, 7,848 court decisions were issued, of which 2,931 belong to the Administrative College, 2,689 decisions of the Civil College and 2,228 decisions of the Criminal College.

The main indicator of performance and efficiency, referring to CEPEJ's standards and best practices, is the rate of liquidation of cases, which is determined by the ratio between completed cases and new cases that are registered. The Supreme Court has been exceeding the international standard for over 2 years, reaching for the year 2023, a rate of liquidation of cases of nearly 425%.

During this year, 1,846 new cases were registered, and according to international standards, the number of court decisions should have been the same, while 7,848 decisions were given, that is, 4 times more than the yield rate per judge. Referring to these data, each judge held for this year a workload of nearly 440 decisions per year (a record number), while historically, in its best year and with more legal advisors, the Supreme Court reviewed on average no more than 250 cases per year per judge. These are data that testify to the high responsibility of the judiciary to face, but also to get out of this situation.

You will soon find that once we have completed the review of cases pertaining to 2017-2018, as the years with the highest number of cases recorded, there will be no cases exceeding reasonable trial times. It is enough to refer to the number of decisions given from 2020, to be confident that for a period of almost two years, the backlog of 24,000 cases will be considered a reminiscence of the past.

Effectiveness is a good indicator of the performance of judges and the tendency for a reduction of the backlog, but the rush order after increasing the number of decisions is not an end in itself. Beyond the quantity of cases, judges remain particularly focused on the quality of decision-making. In this direction, we are oriented to the increase of decisions for unity, the development and change of judicial practice. During the year 2023, the procedure for 13 unitary decisions has started (4 from the Criminal College, 2 from the Civil College and 7 from the Administrative College), while some of them have been announced and the others are in the process of reasoning. Professionally well-structured decisions, through which judicial practice is developed and unified, make the judgment much more efficient and stable in the decision-making of the lower courts, guaranteeing legal stability and certainty in the resolution of disputes. This is and will remain our priority.

During the year 2023, in addition to examining cases according to the chronological criterion, a priority scheme was also followed, which includes special recourses, suspended cases, family and property cases, personal security measures, extradition decisions, etc., without avoiding emergency cases and with fast trial terms, in particular those belonging to the most vulnerable layers of society, especially pensioners, or those unfairly dismissed from work.

Waiver of recourse by public institutions has continued this year, a phenomenon that has also been noticed by individuals. There are 468 requests for waiver of recourse, of which 384 belong to public institutions and 84 to individuals, divided into: 261 in the administrative field, 177 in civil and 30 in criminal. This trend needs to be accompanied by the non-presentation of new recourses, which obviously turn out to be unfounded.

I have always identified as a worrying problem the high number of recourses, which fail to pass the acceptability test. Divided by fields, for the year 2023, 36% of recourses in the Civil College, 70% in the Administrative College and 70% in the Criminal College do not pass this test. But if we look at the relationship between individuals/private legal entities, on the one hand, and public bodies, on the other hand, unacceptable recourses in the administrative and civil fields belong more to public bodies. For this year, public bodies lost 70% of administrative cases (1,441 cases) and 73% of civil cases (701 cases). Private individuals/legal entities lose in 30% of administrative cases (629 cases) and 27% of civil cases (263 cases). This ratio is different in the criminal field, where the prosecution loses in 33% of cases (521 cases), while individuals lose in 67% of them (1039 cases).  

The omission of the eligibility test addresses the concern of private lawyers, the State Bar and the prosecution. It is unacceptable for those who are presumed to have knowledge of the law to continue to present patently unfounded appeals. It must be clearly understood that the conclusion drawn by the Supreme Court for an obviously unfounded appeal does not have any difference from the case, when the commission of an abusive action by the lawyer or representative of the state, who cannot and should not be left unpunished, is evident. both from the National Chamber of Advocacy and from the State General Advocacy.

The way in which appeals are presented constitutes a very serious problem that testifies to the low professional level of representation. Regardless of the measures taken by the Supreme Court, even with the fining of lawyers, it is necessary to change the legal mentality, but also the understanding of the means of appeal, in general and recourse, in particular. Lawyers must understand that the Supreme Court is a court of law and not a court of fact. It is necessary for them to follow judicial practice, in order not to invest the Court with unnecessary cases, with unsuccessful and obviously unfounded appeals. This is best proven by the recourse selection procedure applied by the Administrative College, which is giving positive results both in not allowing the artificial addition of cases, in the quick orientation of judicial practice, but also in the evidence of the lack of professionalism of legal representatives. Only during the year 2023, from this selection process in the administrative field, 42% of the presented appeals were evaluated as clearly unfounded.

Through a very transparent process, with the real-time publication on the official website of decisions and special publications, as well as the periodic distribution of the electronic newsletter with the outstanding decisions, an original solution for the judicial system and very pleasant for legal practitioners, The Supreme Court is aiming to do its best.

Undoubtedly, a lot has been done, but for the citizens who expect justice as soon as possible, it is not enough. The Supreme Court carefully assesses and treats with seriousness any quality criticism that comes from the media, civil society and public opinion. We are aware of the challenges we face and are convinced that they cannot be overcome without everyone's contribution.


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