Judiciary – the best place to kill consensus

By Jerina Zaloshnja
The letter has arrived! No it hasn’t! The letter!
This is a ridiculous and, at the same time, a very significant episode that clearly demonstrates the deep political disagreements and lack of cooperation between two of the most important state institutions such as the Office of the Prosecutor General and the Parliament.
At the beginning of the week the Albanian public was informed that the Prosecutor General, through a request sent to the Parliament, asked for the lifting of the parliamentary immunity of lawmaker Lulzim Basha, who is currently Minister of Foreign Affairs. According to the prosecutor’s office, Minister Basha is being investigated for the procedures followed on the Durr쳠- Kuk쳠highway. Though on Tuesday the Office of the Prosecutor General once again confirmed the fact that this request had been delivered to the Parliament a day earlier, the officials of the top legislative body said they had not received any letter or request. That mystery remained unresolved for a good 48 hours. And that soap opera of sorts was going on while 28 lawmakers of the governing majority had delivered another letter to the Parliament, this one asking for the start of the procedures required for sacking the Prosecutor General.
During the 48 hours of the unresolved mystery surrounding the Prosecutor General’s letter on lifting the parliamentary immunity of the former transport minister, currently a foreign minister, there was much squabbling between the Parliament and the Office of the Prosecutor General. The parliamentary majority accused the Prosecutor General he sped up procedures on asking for lifting Basha’s immunity immediately after he became aware that the Parliament would initiate the procedures for his removal. On the other hand, the Prosecutor’s office accused the Parliament, or, to be precise, the right wing majority, of attempting to fire the Prosecutor General simply because he had initiated the investigation of a Cabinet member. One can hardly imagine a more complicated situation!
Finally the notorious letter that became the cause celebre of the Parliamentary soap opera was found! Late Tuesday the Parliament’s administration confirmed the letter had indeed arrived but that it could not be opened as it was at the office of the Parliament Speaker Jozefina Topalli who was on a visit in Canada during all this week. The situation could hardly be more ridiculous.
Despite its complication, simplicity or hilarity of this parliamentary soap, one thing stands out: it clearly demonstrates that the reform of the judiciary is the perfect way to kill the consensus.
Barely a fortnight ago the Albanian Parliament voted unanimously on the creation of a parliamentary commission for the judiciary’s reform. The commission was supposed to propose a package of changes aiming at implementing structural changes in the justice system; changes that would probably require amendments of the Constitution. The elements that were discussed included issues on whether the Prosecutor General should be under the executive, or whether the Prosecutor General’s mandate should be without a fixed term or with mandates.
The creation of the commission followed President Bamir Topi’s efforts aimed at encouraging the cooperation between the government and the opposition for the reforms of the justice system.
Some thought that the Albanian political parties were finally heading toward consensus – which has been almost nonexistent – not just for issues that relate only to the justice system and its operation, but for the whole political process in Albania. But instead of giving the commission a chance to start its work, the Parliament initiated a commission uncharged to find grounds for sacking the Prosecutor General. And then there followed the mystery of the Prosecutor’s lost and found letter!