Justice system seeks reform

TIRANA, Dec. 18 – Justice has remained post-communist Albania’s Achilles’ heel, and reforms must take place to remedy the situation, according to the top executive institution of the justice system in the country, the High Council of Justice, or the KLD, as it is known by its Albanian abbreviation.
The KLD, headed by the country’s president, convened and Justice Minister Nasip Naco asked that a dozen magistrates who had graduated should be nominated in line with the law. That was not accepted by the KLD, though no clear reason was given.
The KLD is likely one of the few places where the opposition has strong support, after the June parliamentary elections that changed the government from the center-right Democratic Party to the leftist Socialist Party.
The KLD is led by Bujar Nishani, the country’s president who was elected and nominated from the Democrats. His deputy at the KLD is also one from the Democrats and many other members are also affiliated with the opposition, forming a checks and balances barrier for the strong majority, analysts say.
The proposal for young magistrates might be tied with the fact that vacant places in capital Tirana and any other big city may have been promised to other judges and prosecutors, local media reported. But the debate became highly political with the members accusing the government of trying to interfere.
The KLD came out the next day with a statement urging the international community closely monitor the developments.
For sure the international community is closely watching them and late evening everybody should have understood from the statement of the EU’s foreign ministers postponing the candidate status to June for the country. They said clearly that justice in the country was one of the main shortcomings. They also urged the fight against corruption and hailed recent moves from the new government.