TIRANA, Nov. 9 – Albania’s Constitutional Court partly overturned a controversial property bill demanding a redefinition of the evaluation methodology for the compensation and restitution of properties.
The Management of Properties and Completion of the Property Compensation Process Law, drafted by the government as a response to the ongoing issue of property titles, had sparked weeks of debate over concerns on the methodology applied for the restitution and compensation of properties.
The court has overturned Articles 6/3 and 6/5 in the law. Article 6/3 says that “in cases in which the expropriated subjects benefited through a decision compensation or restitution, the difference calculated is deducted from the assessed value of the property recognized for compensation.”
Article 6/5 says that “if the Property Management Agency decides on the recognition and compensation in nature in the property of the subject, the property is assessed under paragraph 1. When this assessment shows that the subject receives a property that has a value greater than the property he had at the time of expropriation, then the subject is compensated in nature with the surface corresponding to the evaluation and the rest of the property is transferred to the land fund through a decision of the PMA.”
The main opposition Democratic Party had filed an appeal to the Court earlier this year, arguing that the law gave violated the rights of property owners. The bill was overturned by President Bujar Nishani and was opposed by Republican Party, Ombudsman and other former property owners.
Ministry of Justice claims that the property bill will enable the completion of the process of restitution and compensation of properties in the next 10 years.
