No immunity in front of the law

“The immunity, rather than an institution established for allowing high rank officials to exert their duties freely, has often turned into a protecting shield of irresponsibility and corruption. The high rank officials have often used immunity as a shield against legal prosecution for their violations, instead of being used as a means given by the Constitution for guaranteeing their contribution to the society. Time has come to make equality in front law not only a mere principle provided by the Constitution, but a concrete achievement of this principle. Let us all join to these European positive developments”, the President declared.

While ambassador Sequi declared:

“Immunity must be understood in the right way, since it doesn’t give a special privilege to judges and high rank officials above the law. Immunity means that the high rank officials and judges will have their freedom to act independently, while they must preserve the big responsibility for their accountability.”

The suggestions for the immunity system reformation have come from two EU projects for the judicial system, PACA and EURALIUS, with a cost of 4.4 million EUR.

EURALIUS representatives suggested that the general immunity should be removed. Judges must respond in front of the law for their infringements. The judges of the Constitutional Court must not profit from the general immunity, but from a procedural regime, similar to what has been given to the MPs.

The propositions of the European Council and the European Union require 93 votes for removing the mandate of an MP. The propositions also suggest that if the MPs are caught in flagrance. The immunity will be removed immediately. According to the EURALIUS propositions, the ministers must also be without immunity. The Ombudsman, the head of the Supreme State Audit and the Central Election Commission members should also work without immunity.

The Democratic Party head of Parliamentary Commission of Laws, Ilir Rusmali, guaranteed for the readiness of the ruling party to make the constitutional amends for removing the immunity of the MPs.

“We have declared more than once that the Democratic Party is ready to vote all constitutional amends, if there is a project for the immunity”, Rusmali declared.

The Socialist MP, Fatmir Xhafaj, vice Chairman of the Parliamentary Commission of Laws, reminded the early efforts of the Socialist Party on this matter, underlining that the Albanian officials have escaped punishment for corruption even without immunity.

“We reconfirm our position that it is indispensable to limit the immunity of the MPs and of high rank officials. The immunity is realized through Constitutional changes”, Xhafaj declared.

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