TIRANA, Oct. 5 – Albania’s Democratic Party has asked the country’s Constitutional Court to rule on the validity of a recently-approved law on transitional qualification assessment of judges and prosecutors, known as the “vetting law.”
The main opposition party says the vetting law violates constitutional amendments approved by consensus earlier in July.
The bill represents a keystone of the country’s justice reform and mandates that all judges and prosecutors must be vetted to see if they meet all criteria for professional skills, moral integrity and independence from influence of organized crime, corruption and political influence.
However, the Democrats say the version of the law approved by parliament without their consent violates the constitutional amendments approved by consensus and aims to give Prime Minister Rama full control over the justice system.
The Democrats had been asked by EU and U.S. representatives not to challenge the law. U.S. Ambassador Donald Lu warned that the Democratic Party is risking to be perceived by the people as “protecting the corrupt judges and prosecutors.”
“It is the constitutional right of the opposition to challenge the vetting law in the Constitutional Court or to boycott further sessions of the ad hoc committee on judicial reform,” Lu recently said. However, he added: “we have told the leadership of the Democratic Party that they risk becoming the party that the people of Albania believe is against this reform and is protecting corrupt judges and prosecutors, or judges and prosecutors with whom they have political influence.”
Lu also launched an appeal to all political parties to “demand the full and rapid implementation of judicial reform” .
EU representatives have also warned that an appeal to the Constitutional Court on the vetting bill can jeopardize a positive decision by the European Commission regarding Albania’s EU accession talks.
If the Constitutional Court decides to rule in favor of the Democrat’s request to suspend the bill, then the entire process of justice reform will be blocked in its initial phase of implementation.
However, the Democrats have refused to bend under international pressure.
“Constitutional and independent institutions must do the vetting process,” said Oerd Bylykbashi, the Democratic Party lawmaker who deposited the request with the Constitutional Court.
Bylykbashi said the list of these institutions received the direct approval of Victoria Nuland, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs and EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn.
“The bill that was approved on Aug. 30 violates the Constitution. [Prime Minister] Edi Rama wants Socialist Party high officials to exercise control on judges,” Bylykbashi said.
Bylykbashi said the ruling majority’s attempts to control the vetting process is a violation of Constitution, but also “a violation of standards set by the Venice Commission.”
The opposition says that the vetting process must be done by new institutions that must be independent and not by existing non-constitutional institutions that are under government control such as the Directorate of Prevention of Money Laundering, Magistrate School, the High Inspectorate of Declaration and Audit of Assets and Conflict of Interests, which “will allow the ruling majority to benefit politically from the whole process.”
The Democratic Party has deposited several amendments during discussions at the Ad Hoc Commission for Electoral Reform that have been refuted by the ruling majority and experts from OPDAT and EURALIUS.
The approval of the vetting bill by the ruling Socialist-led majority was welcomed by both U.S. Embassy and EU Mission EURALIUS.
During its eight years in power, the Democratic Party was able to nominate tens of judges that were politically friendly to its cause and is now worried of losing the influence to the Socialists, an independent expert said. The Constitutional Court has often, but not always, ruled in favor of the center-right party.
On Thursday, members of parliament are expected to vote six other new bylaws that pave the way to the implementation of the reform.
The opposition has said it will vote in favor of establishing a special institution for the fight against corruption and organized crime and the national bureau of investigation, but it might vote against several other proposals.
