Representatives of a coalition of business associations and NGOs are touring most of Albania’s cities, gathering thousands of signatures in support of the bill that would establish an administrative court system. They say the new law will help anyone who has a conflict with the state. The bill needs 84 votes in Parliament to pass, and is being held up by the political crisis.
TIRANA, Dec. 7 – In an unprecedented lobbying effort in support of the approval of a draft law that would establish an administrative court system in Albania, representatives of 34 business and civil society organizations are touring most of Albania’s cities, gathering thousands of signatures in support of a bill that would help businesses, NGOs and individuals that have a conflict with the state.
These associations had earlier come together to form the Coalition in Support of Administrative Courts, and they are now taking the message to Albania’s districts, organizing a number of roundtables with key stakeholders to brief them on the bill and ask for support in adopting the law.
There have been meetings of this kind organized in Kor衬 Lezha, Kukes, Shkodra, Dibra and Gjirokaster so far. And they came after coalition representatives met in Tirana with the leaders of all the parties represented in Parliament.
Representatives from hundreds of businesses and dozens of NGOs have already placed their signatures in a petition demanding the approval of the draft law on the Administrative Courts, according to the coalition. The bill has the support of both the business community and the as civil society. It is also gaining the support of individuals who might benefit from the system.
“A great coalition has been built to work on this issue. Let me tell you that from my experience, the type of close cooperation seen here among business organizations and others can be considered as a unique case of lobbying from businesses across the republic, and all done with the support of the civil society and specific individuals who are trying to achieve success in an issue that affects us all,” Eugenia Gjuria, a representative of the coalition told reporters at one of the meetings.
Support in the lobbying efforts also comes from Albania’s partners abroad. The meetings were held with the support of the Second Threshold Program of the Millennium Challenge Corporation for Albania, a two-year agreement between Albania and the United States, funded by the Millennium Challenge Corporation and administered by USAID.
“Administrative courts will be institutions that will help not only business, but all Albanian citizens in their relations with the state. We are very honored and pleased with the cooperation of the Coalition and to assist in the efforts to have the administrative courts law pass in Parliament,” Patrick Lohmeyer, a representative of the MCCA, told the media.
The coalition says establishing Administrative Courts will protect the rights and legal interests of all citizens on administrative matters relating to thing like public employment, public procurements, taxes, customs, pensions, business registration and licensing, real estate registration and property restitution.
The new law would take administrative matters out of normal courts and into the new system that would put the state, on one hand, and individuals, businesses and organizations, on the other, on equal terms in disputes by shifting the burden of proof on state institutions.
It will also shorten the time for adjudication of these issues from a current average of 130 days in the court of first instance to a maximum of 60 days. It would cut to 10 days time for the execution of decisions of the Administrative Court, granting them the power to execute their decisions if government institutions do not do so in a timely manner.
There is general support for the bill, though delays have plagued it since it was first introduced in the last legislature. Current delays are mainly due to the fact that the opposition refuses to take its seats in Parliament.
Approving the Administrative Court bill requires 60 percent of the votes in Parliament, which means it needs the votes of 84 of 140 deputies. This means that the law can not be adopted without the support of the opposition Socialist Party, which currently boycotting the legislative body over its dispute of the election results.
