CoE alarmed for justice

Underlining that in every democratic society the legal defence and the right to a fair trial is an essential element for every individual, the Commissioner of the Council of Europe underlines a series of obstacles that deprive poor people in Albania from justice.

He writes to the Albanian Minsiter that despite the passed laws and the structures established according to the European standards, the implementation is inexistent.

The Commissioner says that the establishment of a legal aid commission in 2010, which has the duty to appoint lawyers paid by the state to everyone who doesn’t have the economic means, has a very low result, since only three of 25 cases have presented a request.

Nils Muiznjeks says that the citizens’ lack of information for the right if legal defence is one of the causes for the low level of demand.

The Commissioner for justice also underlines the complicated procedures of choosing lawyers and the high fees.

“Due to the strict criteria for choosing the lawyers, there’s a limited number. Only eight of them could get cases appointed by the state. The lack of transparency in the selection process and the fee is another issue that should be considered as serious b the authorities in Albania. A special attention should be paid to the concern for the fees of legal experts, so that this cannot be an obstacle for the access to justice”, the letter says.

The Commissioner for Justice at the Council of Europe underlines another issue, the 3% payment for guaranteeing the start of a trial.

“I want to share some concerns regarding the fees in the civil trials. The fees are to create more disagreements, since it’s 3% of the value that someone claims for compensation, and this should be paid before the trial, so that it can even start. I am concerned for this system, because it means that the trial is not allowed to those who don’t have that money. I want to bring the example of a human traffic victim that was not compensated by the court because she was unable to pay the cost of the process”, the letter underlined.

By encouraging the Minister of Justice that the European Court of human rights obliges all countries to enable access to justice to every citizen, the CoE Commissioner closed the appeal letter by saying: “I want to ask for the attention of your authorities, and that of Council of Europe, with recommendation 81.7, about the measures for access to justice where we underline that the state or the respective legal representatives should not ask money in exchange of granting access to justice. I appeal the Albanian authorities to review it and make the necessary amends in the national system, in full accordance with the standards of the Council of Europe”.

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