Judges tested for Administrative Court

TIRANA, March 27 – Eighty-eight judges were tested this week for forty-three vacancies in the newly established Administrative Court. The High Council of Justice is expected to announce the winners for six first instance Administrative Courts. The Administrative Courts of Vlora, Shkodra, Durers, Korca and Gjirokastra will have 4 judges each while the Tirana Administrative Court will have 16 judges. The Appeals Administrative Court is expected to have seven judges.
The approval of the legal framework paving the way to the Administrative Court and the payment of accumulated debts to private companies are the two key requests the business community represented by the Tirana Chamber of Industry and Commerce has made to the political class ahead of next June’s elections.
The Albanian government owes the private sector in unpaid bills over Euro 200 million, according to economy experts and business representatives.
Ongoing political conflicts between the majority and the opposition this time over the deadlock in the Fier regional council, continue preventing the establishment of the Administrative Courts. Six months after the approval of the law in Parliament both the ruling Democrats and the opposition Socialists have failed to make some changes to the Supreme Court law needing a qualified majority of votes in order to complete the full legal infrastructure on the establishment of these courts ensuring the independent legal review of administrative decisions. Although supporting the changes to the Supreme Court law, the opposition Socialist Party has warned it will not give its consensus if the dispute in the regional council of Fier, a stronghold of the opposition, if not resolved. Both the majority and the opposition claim they have the head of the Fier regional council and the process is being legally examined in prolonged trials. The case is also holding back key reforms required by the European Commission after Albania was granted conditional candidate status as both parties refuse making concessions.