In Durrës, the second biggest city west of the Albanian capital, the lack of work spaces and the overload of judges is harming the process of providing justice to citizens as in an average a judge is reported to conduct over 20 court hearings per day.
In a communication with the media, the vice president of the Court of General Jurisdiction in Durrës, Paulin Çera, explained the daily challenges and the consequences of the one-week boycott by lawyers, that led to the postponement of hundreds of court sessions until fall.
“The composition of the Court approved by the HCJ foresees 23 judges, but currently only 11 judges are working. The court works with half the capacity in human resources and the case load is always increasing”, Çera adds.
Built in the early 70s, the Durrës court building does not meet the needs of an efficient judiciary. The situation worsened after the judicial reform and expansion of the Court’s jurisdiction, which now covers 4 municipalities, thus burdening the judges and the administration beyond normal work standards.
“This court does not meet the standards for delivering justice. There are also no consultation rooms and judges have to move between the parties. The court has 23 judges and should have that number of rooms, but currently there are only 4 rooms”, says Çera.
In September, it is expected that the civil section will be transferred to the former building of the Court of Appeal in Durrës, but even this measure is considered insufficient. Without a final and sustainable solution, the lack of premises and the workload of judges will continue to hinder the delivery of justice in Durrës, to the detriment of the citizens and the judicial system as a whole.
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