Justice reform discussions launched in tense panel

Judiciary reform must be a product of political compromise in order to have long-term results, says President Nishani.
TIRANA, Oct. 6 – It is rare to see Albania’s top government and opposition leaders sitting in one table, but the importance of a proposed overhaul of the country’s justice system launched this week by President Bujar Nishani did bring everyone together, albeit there appeared to be no agreement on the details of the proposed reform.
Prime Minister Edi Rama and Parliament Speaker Ilir Meta of the governing coalition as well as Tirana Mayor Lulzim Basha of the main opposition Democratic Party participated in a panel led by President Nishani and attended by representatives of all the key international institutions and partners.
From the very start however, it was clear this would be very cooperative meeting, something that was obvious in the tone of speeches and non verbal cues.
Rama and Basha did not shake hands even though they were only a few meters away. It was also noted that Rama did not mention Basha’s presence at the start of his speech. Basha mentioned the prime minister by title only.
Nishani, who has head of state is nominally politically impartial and plays a key role as head of the High Council of Justice, the judiciary’s governing body, said that the new reform in the justice system should be conducted in through a political compromise in order to have long-term results.
Rama said his government was resolute in making it hard for corrupt judges and prosecutors to continue working. The premier said the country would never become a member of the European Union, a task which all the political groupings support, without a fair justice system in line with the international standards.
Rama had earlier wanted to launch the reform process on his own, but bowed down later and agreed to have Nishani spearhead it.
Meta echoes Rama’s thoughts and strongly urged the opposition to be part of the reform, a fundamental step in the integration process.
Basha said the opposition support reform, but said it wants to make sure that the executive branch stays out of the affairs of the judiciary – adding that the Socialist-led is trying to take the justice system under its political control.
He mentioned the parliamentary investigative commission on the removal of two members of the High Council of Justice from their posts, a move launched from the leftist governing coalition. He also said that the government had not implemented the decisions of the Constitutional Court.
The opposition has been boycotting the parliament since July, expressing some of the concerns above as well as the physical abuse suffered by one of its MPs at the hands of two Socialist MPs who have now been charged by prosecutors.
Local and international experts at the meeting proposed a change in the make-up of the High Council of Justice, including removing the country’s president as head of the council.
The international community made it clear that without fighting corruption in the justice system and restoring the trust of the public, Albania cannot improve its general rule of law and quality of life standards.
U.S. Deputy Ambassador Henry Jardine was direct at the meeting this week, saying that not all judges and prosecutors are corrupt, but those proven guilty should be behind bars.
At the conclusions of the conference, the president offered two-week period for the government to prepare the strategy for the reform. But it remains unclear what the next steps in the reform will be.
There were indications that the governing majority could launch a new parliamentary commission on judiciary reform, but the opposition has not confirmed its participation, pending the same reasons it has put forth for boycotting parliament.