TIRANA, Feb. 15 – Albania’s Constitutional Court has turned down an appeal filed by the Union of Judges against the bill on transitional qualification assessment of the judges and prosecutors in the Republic of Albania, known as the vetting law that entered to force in January 2017.
The Union of Judges claimed that the bill is in violation of the country’s constitution, whereas the Constitutional Court disagreed.
The Constitutional Court ruling paves the way for the implementation of the background checks on around 800 judges and prosecutors for their professional proficiency, moral integrity and independence from the influence of the organized crime, corruption and political power.
The vetting law, considered crucial for justice reform and EU accession talks, remained stalled for months, after the opposition parties and the Union of Judges filed Constitutional Court appeals, arguing the formula of electing members for the Independent Commission of Qualification – tasked with vetting justice officials – is biased.
The vetting of judges and prosecutors will be done by a Commission, an Appeal Chamber and Public Commissioners. The vetting process, which will kick off in March, will comprise of asset audits and background checks.
The overall process will also be monitored by the International Monitoring Operation – a body of international lawyers led by the European Commission and chaired by the Director for the Western Balkans at the Directorate-General for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations of the European Commission, Genoveva Ruiz Calavera.
During her first visit to Albania, the IMO chief said that the body’s tasks will be conducted in a transparent manner.
“We will monitor but will not take executive decisions. Decision making is a task assigned to Albanian authorities,” she said.
The International Monitoring Operation has begun assessing the files of about 190 candidates who have already applied to work for the vetting commission and its board of appeals. IMO will also compile a list of recommended candidates for the two bodies without political bias.
The election of these members will most likely continue for the next two months, whereas background checks on judges and prosecutors will continue for some years.
The law on the re-evaluation of judges and prosecutors which entered to force at the beginning of January, has already resulted in several resignations among justice officials who want to skip the checks and the publication of their financial and professional data.
An analysis on the assets declarations of judges conducted by Balkan Investigative Network revealed that if the criteria on vetting were strictly respected, around 70 percent of the judges and prosecutors would fail the test.
