As gov’t erodes property rights, Strasbourg rulings hit taxpayers hard

TIRANA, Jan. 16 – A January 11 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights has once again unveiled the ongoing arbitrariness governments in the past quarter of a century of Albania’s transition to democracy and a market economy display when enforcing contracts and respecting human rights. The Strasbourg-based court has ruled the Albanian government will have to compensate owners of a seaside apartment block in Vlora, southern Albania, €14.2 million, for illegally demolishing the Jon residence in December 2013 and violating property and human rights of 19 Albanian residents and an Italian citizen. The amount of compensation mounts to…