TIRANA, July 19 – After getting the EU candidate status last year, Tirana hopes to launch membership talks as soon as possible, but besides improving its public administration, fighting organized crime and corruption and modernizing its politics, the reform of the judiciary system is fundamental to all the other steps, experts say.
The leftist government of Prime Minister Edi Rama has said that the reform will be completed by September to boost the chances of opening the talks this year, a goal seen as too ambitious by many EU officials.
A parliamentary commission on the judicial reform as has officially taken shape this month after the opposition Democratic Party ended its boycott of the reform process under international mediation.
The reform won’t be easy, experts said, but it will have the assistance of the European Union and the United States.
There will be continuous meetings, conferences, work by a group of experts and many other activities.
Last week, for example, the steering committee of the joint project of the European Union and the Council of Europe – Support to Efficiency of Justice – took place in Tirana, gathering representatives of the EU Delegation, the CoE and the Albanian judicial and executive powers to discuss the project progress, the main results achieved in the last 18 months and the way forward.
“The ongoing justice reform in Albania must be above all private or group interests. It should be a reform driven by knowledge and best practices – not a political one,” said Yngve Engstrom, head of cooperation at the EU Delegation. “An efficient and trustworthy judicial system is essential to gain the trust of citizens. Predictable, timely and enforceable justice decisions have a key impact in making a country an attractive location for business and investment.”
Engstrom added that means a system where justice is not only done, but is trusted by all.
“Judges and prosecutors are the cornerstone of this reform. They must demonstrate the highest level of integrity and guarantee that no one – no government, no public official and no dominant company is above the law,” Engstrom said.
Last week, Albania’s parliament approved the establishment of an ad-hoc parliamentary commission on judicial reform that includes members from the entire political spectrum following an agreement reached between the ruling majority and the opposition with the mediation of international partners.
The opposition and ruling parties, based on the agreement, have equal participation in the commission chaired by SP’s Fatmir Xhafaj and DP’s Eduard Halimi.
