TIRANA, Oct. 26 – Albania’s High Prosecutorial Council (KLP) decided on Friday to launch procedures for the appointment of the first eight members of the Special Prosecution Office and Special Court against Corruption, otherwise known as SPAK.
Procedures are expected to be completed within 30 days.
The constitution stipulates that the minimum number of SPAK members should be ten prosecutors, while the council ruled that with Friday’s decision it is starting to supplement the organization chart of this institution.
Of the 15 candidates selected for the SPAK, only eight have passed all stages of figure verification under the vetting.
One candidate was dropped while another was nominated to become a member of the Constitutional Court, two are awaiting the Special Appeals Commission, while for three others, the process has not yet begun.
The council also decided on Friday to open the race for the interim head of the SPAK, as well as to launch consultations with the High Judicial Council on the SPAK’s parallel operation.
Next week, meanwhile, the Prosecutorial Council will announce the three remaining candidates in the race for the position of Attorney General, to prepare for the interview phase within ten days. The decision came after the court dismissed the indictment of Lulzim Alushaj, whose candidacy was overturned by the KLP.
Immediately after the close of the interviews with the three candidates, Olsian Cela, Arta Marku and Fatjona Memcaj, the Parliament, as explained by council leader Gent Ibrahimi, will be sent the list with the rankings according to the rating.
Last week, the KLP failed again to establish SPAK despite its importance under the ongoing justice reform and its necessity for the continuation of Albania’s European Union integration, as its members have argued whether establishing it with members who have yet to pass the vetting is adhering to the constitutional law or the justice reform plan.
