TIRANA, Jan. 7 – Signals for consensus and an overall cooperation climate between government and opposition experts that were given at the beginning of the week waned fast.
A day after the first meeting, which appeared promising, representatives of the opposition’s Democratic Party abandoned the next scheduled meeting.
Experts from both sides agreed to use the recommandations of the Venice Commission as a blueprint for future action. However, disagreements arose after the scrutiny of specific terms, more specifically the manner of election of top level officials of the justice system institutions.
Experts from the opposition have requested, as the Venice Commission recommends, in fact, to avoid the appointment of the heads of the justice system institutions, by applying the formula which requires three fifths of the votes in parliament.
They say the application of such a formula would automatically lead to the capture of the judiciary by the government, which currently possesses the required majority of three fifths.
Enkelejd Alibeaj, a former Justice Minister who served when the Democratic Party were in power, expressed his surprise stemming from the lack of willingness from the government to reflect on the recommendations of the Venice Commission. And one of the fundamental recommendations, according to Alibeaj, is the depoliticizing of the justice system by avoiding the inclusion of the three fifths formula in the appointment of the highest officials of the justice institutions in the country.
In fact, the recommendations of the Venice Commission were read and interpreted differently by the government and the opposition and the reactions were contradictory.
Soon after the recommendations were released, the opposition was quick to declare that the draft on constitutional changes unilaterally compiled by the government had been rejected by the Venice Commission. On the other hand, the government defended its own draft.
However, independent experts admitted that the opinion expressed by the Venice Commission regarding the government’s draft raises question marks on fundamental issues on this document.
While it was widely expected that the government and the opposition would end political stand-off and cooperate for a single unified draft, what happened instead was the return to the old ways of conflict, a persistent feature that characterizes Albanian politics.
It also appears that the Democrats in opposition are not the only ones having substantial objections regarding the justice reform. The government’s ally in the ruling coalition, the Socialist Movement for Integration, has voiced similar concerns.
Justice Minister Ylli Manjani, an SMI member, called for political consensus on the justice reform and the immediate opening of political dialogue. After meeting with the Speaker of Parliament Ilir Meta, who is at the same time the head of the Socialist Movement for Integration, the minister of justice called for the opening of talks on a political level, thus clearly expressing his dissent regarding the continuation of talks on the justice reform involving experts of the field.
Enkelejd Alibeaj, former minister of justice and currently a representative of experts from the Democratic Party, in essence asked for the same thing the previous day: Political consensus between political parties and the opening of high-level political talks.
Independent experts concede that consensus and political agreements are necessary, but remain sceptical on the reaching of consensus, which in fact is a rare commodity in Albanian politics in the last twenty-five years.
Shefqet Muci, a former minister of justice under a previous socialist administration, declared that the draft prepared by the ad hoc parliamentary committee has de facto been discarded by the Venice Commission.
The main opposition party, the Democratic Party, together with the Socialist Movement for Integration, currently part of the ruling coalition, praised the work and recommendations of the Venice Commission.
Minister Manjani said that “the essence of what the Venice Commission recommends is political consensus which will arrange for an all-encompassing reform, and will lay the basis for a simple, minimalist constitution. And this is not a matter of experts, but instead is the moment to initiate political talks”
The latest developments, firstly, appear to be a step backwards in the justice reform bringing efforts to the starting point and secondly, have once again seen the rise of the idea that political consensus is essential.
The Democratic Party has insisted since the onset of talks on the need for consensus. And the opposition hasn’t been alone in expressing the same request.
The Socialist Movement for Integration, a key ally in the current government has asked for wide consensus including all parties involved.
Manjani, who represents SMI in the current government, reinforced his party’s stance on political dialogue.
The government has been reluctant toward the opposition’s request for political consensus in the approval of constitutional amendments, which are closely connected to the reform in the justice system.
Instead, government representatives have declared that should consensus fail, they could use the majority in parliament or can also seek the approval of constitutional amendments through a referendum.
There have been speculations and also debates in the Albanian press that a high European Union representative in Tirana has said that constitutional amendments could pass even without the consent of the opposition.
In fact, the international community and in particular the United States and the European Union have strongly supported efforts for the completion of the reform in the justice system.
The United States Ambassador in Tirana Donald Lu has been one of the main advocates regarding the justice reform.
“We are fully focused on the justice reform following specific instructions from high ranking U.S officials at the White House and State Department. They have explicitly told us that the number one priority of the United States government in Albania is to support all the reforms required for Albania to become a member of the European Union,” said the U.S ambassador this week.
It seems that in addition to the unwavering support, both the United States and the European Union have very high expectations for the results the reform will bring regarding the establishment of the rule of law.
Meanwhile, independent experts while supporting the reformation of the system remain cautious in terms of result expectations.
“The problem with this country is that good laws are already in place, but they are poorly or hardly enforced,” says a researcher at the Institute for International Studies in Tirana.
A group of experts from the Venice Commission is expected to visit Tirana the third week of January to help devise a new draft on legal and constitutional amendments, accepted by both government and opposition.
But, as disagreements and polemics between camps have resumed, the reaching of consensus on a joint draft sounds too good to be true.
