GRECO; “Public doesn’t trust the judiciary”

The report values the presence of detailed regulations against corruption and conflict of interests, and shows that the existing law is very complex and its stability is undermined by the constant amends, which are often interpreted with contradictions. Furthermore, the rules are mainly focused on bans and limitations that damage public transparency, limiting this way its effect.

The Albania judiciary has a low level of trust in public, compared to other government branches. The judiciary cannot select the Supreme Court judges, and the right to start disciplinary measures against District Judges and Appeal Judges belongs exclusively to the Minister of Justice. The National Judiciary Conference, the main self-governing institution of the judiciary has not been completely active for years, and this has had a negative effect on the selection, career advancement, training and disciplinary procedure against judges.

As for the Parliament Members, GRECO notes that MPs have unfair influence. The importance to have clear standards of professional behavior has not been considered as a priority and there is no notification system about conflict of interests. Despite the praised amends of the Constitution for limiting the immunity of MPs and Judges, its implementation has been impeded by the lack of respective amends of the Criminal Code.

Based on the report, GRECO makes 10 recommendations for Albania and expects Tirana to hand over the first report about the measures that are taken for the implementation of these recommendations, which is evaluated during the first half of 2016 by this entity of the Council of Europe.

Prepared by: Arta TOZAJ

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