Immunity, another tool of the political game

TIRANA, Oct. 18 – A high-level conference on the reform of immunities in Albania was held Tuesday in Tirana with the participation of senior officials, lawmakers, judiciary, international experts and civil society. It was part of the two EU-funded initiatives, the “Project on Anti-Corruption in Albania” (PACA) and the “Consolidation of the Justice System Project” (EURALIUS), both proposing to narrow the immunities of elected officials and judges in Albania. The immunities of elected officials and judges lie at the core of reforms needed to strengthen the rule of law and the fight against corruption in Albania and thereby underpin Albania’s EU accession efforts, but also for the country’s reputation, for its economic development, and for Albanian citizens’ quality of governance. But it was obvious again that politics is the big obstacle to reducing the immunity for these officials. Both political sides present in the meeting supported the idea of lifting or reducing their immunity, but only with words. The EU experts present in the conference provided recommendations on how to reform the immunities regime in line with European and international standards and best practices, which should lead to the formulation of an Albanian government policy on the matter. Key recommendations are to amend the Albanian Constitution in order to abolish the immunity of MPs and judges against criminal prosecution, and preserve only non-liability for opinions and votes expressed, together with immunity against arrest and search. Ambassador Ettore Sequi, Head of the European Union Delegation to Albania said: “The conclusions of the 2011 European Commission’s Annual Progress Report on Albania published last week highlight clearly that ‘Limited progress was made in the field of anti-corruption policy.”