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An EC report highlights the weaknesses of the justice system in Albania

2024-07-24 23:46:32Aktualitet SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
An EC report highlights the weaknesses of the justice system in Albania
An EC report highlights the weaknesses of the justice system in Albania

"Despite strong guarantees of independence, the process of appointments, promotions and transfers is affected by limited transparency and the challenge of ensuring timely and quality evaluations of magistrates."

The concern is raised in a report of the European Commission, approved on Wednesday, which analyzes the state of the rule of law in Albania, highlighting the weak points in the Justice system, 8 years after the adoption of the Reform, political efforts to exert pressure, as well as shortcomings in the fight against corruption.

The phenomenon is considered "widespread in many areas, including electoral campaigns". The report is part of the periodic evaluation for the member countries of the European Union, where the candidate countries are included for the first time.

Criticisms about the process of appointments, promotions or transfers are addressed to the High Judicial Council (HCC) and the Prosecutor's Office (KLP). According to the report, "KLP and to a lesser extent the HCJ are facing challenges to provide timely and quality evaluations of magistrates' performance. Based on the legal provisions, promotions can continue only after a magistrate has been positively evaluated". But the most disturbing element that the report points out is the fact that "KLP has not yet started the evaluation of prosecutors based on the legal framework of 2016, but continues to promote prosecutors based on the evaluations carried out by the General Prosecutor's Office before the judicial reform of of 2016".

Non-magistrate members are expected to be replaced in both institutions. A procedure which should have been closed since last December, but which has remained hostage to delays in several links of the process. The report notes that "there are deficiencies in the appointments of non-magistrate members of the High Judicial Council and the High Prosecution Council in terms of background checks and asset verification, as well as the transparency and meritocracy of the process." According to the European Commission, "the legal provisions that regulate the election of non-judicial members of the Councils by the Parliament and their implementation in practice fail to protect the selection of candidates who show the highest level of independence or competence, which is problematic". There is also criticism of the recently developed process in parliament where "reported challenges related to competition and transparency" are mentioned.

In its report, the European Commission assesses that "the lack of financial and human resources negatively affects the quality of justice. Challenges remain regarding the length of court proceedings and the heavy burden on the system, while further measures to increase efficiency have not yet been implemented." Since last year, courts and prosecutions have been organized according to the new judicial map, which significantly reduced their number. According to the report, the implementation of the new map "exposed the shortcomings of the judicial system in relation to access to justice and court infrastructure" and that "a strong implementation plan for the judicial map is missing".

The new map reflected the decrease in the number of magistrates due to the vetting process, due to which many judges and prosecutors have remained outside the system. All the country's courts and prosecutor's offices, despite the reorganization, function with a reduced number of magistrates. The phenomenon has also affected the new institutions that were created by the reform. The report notes as a concern, the large number of vacancies of magistrate inspectors and the High Inspector of Justice, an institution which, however, is positively evaluated.

The European Commission notes that "legal changes remain necessary to strengthen the capacities of the School of Magistrates" which must supply the system with new magistrates. But the report points out as a shortcoming the fact that "magistrates dismissed by vetting are not prohibited from taking training staff positions at the School of Magistrates".

The Justice Reform was approved, among other things, with the aim of keeping the system away from political influence. But the report notes that "concerns about attempts to interfere and pressure, on the judicial system, by public officials or politicians remain. While in the reporting period no sanctions were taken against public officials or politicians who make accusations against magistrates, the self-governing institutions have publicly reacted to such accusations, classifying them as unfair influence and pressure".

As for corruption, the report estimates that it remains widespread in many areas, while "preventive measures suffer from an overly complex legal framework and continue to have a limited impact, especially in vulnerable sectors."

The Special Structures against Organized Crime and Corruption (SPAK) is positively evaluated, citing the fact that the number of persons investigated, prosecuted and convicted for corruption offenses has increased over the last three years. However, the European Commission notes that "authorities specialized in combating and preventing corruption signal shortages in terms of resources and specialized instruments available". Meanwhile, according to the report, "other structures of the fight against corruption still face challenges in the effective detection and investigation" of this phenomenon.

Concern also appears about the amnesty law, approved in the parliament, after a consensus between the majority and the overwhelming part of the opposition. "40 persons convicted by the Special Courts for exerting illegal influence on public officials were included in the scope of exemption from serving the sentence and 60 persons have the right to benefit from a reduced sentence".

The report sees as problematic "the limited transparency in public procurement procedures, especially for public-private partnerships" as well as "the misuse of state resources during electoral campaigns"./VOA


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