Crisis, Courts without funds

Also the psychologists that the state has to offer to minors under trial have not been paid for the last six months. This concern was made public for Top Channel by the lawyers themselves.

“We have not been paid since 2009, and we have been told that there are no funds”, say the lawyers appointed by the state.

The head of the Penal Lawyers Association, Saimir Visha, confirms that the legislation needs changes, so that these lawyers will not be seen simply as something formal for replacing other lawyers, when courts try to avoid the prolonging of processes.

“We have not been paid for the last three years, especially by the Tirana courts. I think that the law should change. The lawyers should be appointed to a Legal Help Office at the Ministry of Justice, and be detached from the National Chamber of Lawyers. This chamber should change, so that the lawyers can mainly be legal defense lawyers, where all members play the role of the lawyer appointed for the defendants”, Visha declared.

The Finance Office of the Tirana Court says that these lawyers have not been paid since June 2011, because the state has not enough funds. But the lawyers will be paid in the beginning of 2012, according to the officials.

Top Channel