The reform of the Constitutional Court must focus on the criteria needed
for appointing a judge, the legal framework for a resignation and the
quorum problem.
In an interview for Top Channel, the President of the Constitutional Court, Bashkim Dedja, says that the law must be clear:
“All the criteria defined by the law and Constitution are general. The candidates should have more than 15 years of experience and high professional qualification. It doesn’t specify if it requires simply education or any distinctive title. The evaluations might be subjective, and also the purposes of actors that are part of the selection of new judges. The Constitutional Court has some decisions about this, such as when it is part of a conflict, and they are oriented to the lawmakers for the respective criteria. Secondly, more cooperation is needed between the institutions, the president and the lawmakers. What is required, since the reform is being done, is that these criteria should be obligatory and coordinated”, Dedja declared.
Dedja adds that to avoid problems at the Constitutional Court, the reform should also change other daily issues, such as a definition by law of who should act when the Constitutional Court verdicts are not implemented.
“This is about the citizens’ access to the Constitutional Court, According to the Albanian law, the deadlines are unreasonable and very long. The individual’s right to address the Supreme Court is two years. The Court itself has just six month. This is unreasonable. The second is related to the legal safety, since citizens are under the risk of having a case reopened. The deadline to oppose a law at the Constitutional Court is three years. Other countries have less time. This is mostly related to the legal insecurity, because a law that is repealed will immediately cause consequences. Another problem is when should the Albanian citizens be allowed to oppose laws at the Constitutional Court. We don’t have this. Many other countries do. Citiznes may come here when their rights are violated, not to repeal a law”, Deedja declared.
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