After six years of lobbying and two consecutive parliaments, the business community finds itself with no Administrative Courts, and Albania now has now funding to implement the system as politicians use the draft law as a weapon in their political turf war.
Two consecutive Albanian parliaments have failed to pass a law that would allow for the establishment of Administrative Courts after the opposition refused to vote on it, despite the wide support of the law from the business community. It is a case that highlights how the country’s combative politics have a negative impact on the country’s economy.
This bill was first introduced to the last session of the prior parliament, in May 2009, hoping it would the get approved before the elections. The Socialist Party walked out of that first vote, saying they would deal with it after they had won the elections. They did not win – and the protests and walk-outs that followed the elections, meant the vital bill was left behind.
At issue is that draft laws on the justice system in Albania need to be approved by a qualified majority of votes. And the opposition needs to vote to meet that requirement.
The U.S. Embassy in Tirana, in a last ditch attempt to convince the opposition to vote, urged the parliament to adopt the law by Sept. 30, or lose 16 million dollars in aid. The statement of U.S. diplomats expressed concern that if not approved law, then the funds the U.S. governments had allocated for the implementation of the new court system would be canceled.
No consensus was found, and the 16 million dollars were lost. The Socialists conditioned their vote of the bill with approving the election investigation package – which has nothing to do with Administrative Courts and which the ruling Democrats refused to accept.
Political analysts say the failure to approve the Administrative Courts bill is a clear cut example of how Albanian parties put narrow party interests above the interests of the country and its citizens.
Finding himself under fire, Socialist leader Edi Rama said the opposition was not ready to hand another court to the control of Prime Minister Sali Berisha. Rama was speaking after the U.S. Embassy statement which identified the opposition as responsible for the failure of passing the law in parliament and Albania losing 16 million dollars in U.S. aid.
The U.S. Embassy in Tirana had tried to convince the quarrelsome Albanian parties to reach agreements to allow for the adoption of the Administrative Courts bill to avoid canceling the funds, but the opposition did not give its consent.
Prime Minister Sali Berisha said he is willing to pass the law even with the funds now being gone. “I invite Mr. Rama once again, to vote the law on Administrative Court, because the best way to correct the mistake made in order to express the repentance for that attitude is to vote this law,” Berisha said. “If the opposition wishes to vote in it, as a majority, all opposition amendments that are deemed necessary will be accepted in order for this vital judicial body to rise to the best standards of impartiality, independence and functionality. ”
Rama had mentioned that there were some changes in the bill they would like to see, without going into a lot of specifics, but analysts say there is nothing wrong with the bill, as all the opposition’s proposals were included in it. The decision to kill it was purely political.
Albania’s business community has been lobbying for years on the need to get the Administrative Courts bill passed in parliament, and most of the country’s business and civil society organizations had come together under the umbrella of the Coalition in Support of Administrative Courts to strongly urge Albania’s parliament again to urgently pass the draft law that allows for the establishment of the Administrative Court System.
Their last call to action was addressed to the speaker of parliament to introduce the bill to the floor as soon as possible and to the opposition to vote on the bill, which is seen as vital by the business community.
“On behalf of 35 business and civil society organizations that are part of the Coalition in Support of Administrative Courts, we ask the Albanian Parliament to take under consideration in plenary session and quickly adopt the law on Administrative Courts, since all conditions to do so have now been met,” the coalition said in the statement sent to the parliament.
The business organizations once again explained to the public opinion the reasons why the new law is necessary. They said it won’t benefit just businesses, but the entire society. The passage of the bill will pave the way for the establishment of the Administrative Courts System, an institution that Albania’s businesses and citizens having been demanding for six years.
The establishment of this modern court system will allow for effectively dealing with disputes between individuals or organizations and central or local public institutions through the use of specialized judges.
The coalition’s latest request comes after a long odyssey of lobbying that lasted more than a year, during which time the absence of opposition lawmakers from parliament meant the bill could not get the 84 votes it needs to be passed into law.
“More than ever, the time is now for the Albanian Parliament to pave the way in creating the Administrative Courts, using the generous help of international aid programs. Recently, representatives of these programs have made it clear that failure to establish the Administrative Courts may jeopardize the continuation of programs funded by the U.S. government for this purpose or even funds that support major reforms and major infrastructure projects in Albania,” said the statement, which was also issued to the press.
Why the Administrative Courts are important
So why are the Administrative Courts needed? Supporters say it is very important to understand that the establishment of these courts would directly benefit not only businesses but all Albanians.
“The establishment of the Administrative Courts will drastically improve the way the courts dealt with administrative matters. Administrative Courts will handle all disputes between an individual or organization and the state. These are disputes that arise due to a legal and administrative act by a public institution,” the coalition supporting the idea says. “These include, for example, disputes over taxes, procurements, customs, business registration and licensing, pensions, property issues associated with an administrative act or the registration of a property deed, employment issues in public institutions, etc.”
The business community also supports the establishment of Administrative Courts because the move will lead to, among other things with the time of dealing with an issue will be shortened on average from 130 days to 60 days; and the burden of proof at trial of an administrative issue will be on the shoulders of the public institution. This saves time and energy for individuals and businesses.
For the first time in Albania, the Administrative Courts would also review disputes related to rules and regulations issued by the Council of Ministers, municipal councils and mayors. Earlier, these issues would be addressed in court.
If the public institutions don’t apply the decisions in a timely matter, the Administrative Court can implement these decisions itself and impose fines on the heads of public institutions that do not obey the decisions. This will encourage the implementation of decisions.
