
The European Court of Human Rights has found a violation of Article 7 of the European Convention in the case of Luan Daci. This was stated by his defense lawyer, who described the decision as a confirmation of the arguments raised by him during the trial.
Daci's lawyer, Jordan Daci, states that the ECHR has accepted the essence of the defense's arguments and, in the reasoning of the decision, has also included the positions presented by him.
This, according to the defense, is related to the claim that Luan Daci was convicted on the basis of an expanded and unpredictable interpretation of the criminal law.
The lawyer argues that the ECHR concluded that even a professional lawyer would have found it difficult to foresee that the conduct for which Daci was convicted could give rise to criminal liability. For this reason, according to him, the European Court has found a violation of Article 7 of the Convention.
In his statement, the lawyer also recalls the position he has held for years on the limits of judicial interpretation. According to him, courts cannot take over the powers of the legislator and, through expanded interpretation, create new norms or criminal offenses to the detriment of the individual.
He described the ECHR decision as a victory for Luan Daci, emphasizing that the defense arguments have become part of the reasoning of the European Court.
"Today is a day of professional satisfaction for me as Luan Daci's defense lawyer. The European Court of Human Rights not only accepted the essence of the arguments I have raised since the beginning of this case, but has expressly cited in the reasoning of the decision the positions and arguments presented by me as his defense lawyer.
Particularly significantly, the ECtHR concluded that “the Supreme Court created a new offence in the applicant's case”, precisely one of the fundamental theses on which our defence is built.
Luan Daci was convicted on the basis of an expansive and unpredictable interpretation of the criminal law, i.e., in essence, he was convicted without law. The ECtHR found that even a professional lawyer would have found it difficult to foresee that such conduct could give rise to criminal liability and, therefore, found a violation of Article 7 of the European Convention.
For years, I have defended the position that courts cannot, through expanded interpretation, assume the attributes of the legislator and create new norms or criminal offenses to the detriment of the individual.
Today, this position was not only confirmed by Strasbourg, but the defense's arguments became part of the Court's own reasoning.
"A fully deserved victory for Luan Dacin and Dacat as a whole and a message that must remain: the court implements and interprets the law and it cannot create a criminal offense to convict a person," the full reaction states.