President nominates Dedja to head Constitutional Court

TIRANA, Sep. 21 – Albania’s president has nominated Judge Bashkim Dedja as the new head of the Constitutional Court.
President Bamir Topi made the announcement just a few minutes before he left for the United States to take part at the UN General Assembly meeting.
Dedja took his seat in the court earlier this year. Following the nomination there will be a vote in parliament to approve or dismiss the president’s proposal.
A day earlier, the parliament’s speaker, Jozefina Topalli, strongly criticized the president delaying the nomination and allowing the position of the Constitutional Court’s head to be vacant for so long.
Topalli went as far as saying that the president’s lack of nomination was a constitutional violation.
Topi has been a target of attacks from the governing Democrats, especially in the nomination of the new judges for the Constitutional and Supreme courts.
The Democrats, who control the parliament with 75 seats together with their allies, have often turned down the president’s nominations saying they do not fulfill the professional and moral values required by these high courts.
The president heads the High Council of Justice, the top body governing judiciary in the country.
The justice system in post-communist Albania has been an Achilles heel as it is always targeted for corruption and lack of professionalism.
The Constitutional Court has always been a focus of attention for the political parties, who criticize it for political affiliations.
Last weekend, the Albanian Chamber of Attorneys, the country’s legal bar association, strongly criticized President Topi for not being fair and professional in the nominations of the new judges for the two top courts.