TIRANA, Feb.29 – After the Venice Commission released its recommendations on the judicial reform, both the majority and the opposition have interpreted the draft as supportive of their own respective positions on the reform.
According to the head of the ad hoc committee on justice reform Socialist MP Fatmir Xhafaj, the final opinion delivered by the Venice Commission supports the institutional structure and the technical solutions proposed by the experts on judicial reform.
“It is not only naà¯ve, but it also goes against the public interest to keep saying that the Venice Commission has rejected the project of constitutional amendments,” Xhafa said.
On the other hand, the opposition also claimed that the Venice Commission has shared the opposition’s concerns regarding the capture of the justice system by the government.
“The Democratic Party is encouraged by the fact that the Venice Commission shared the same concerns the opposition has raised since the very start,” said Democrat MP Eduard Halimi, deputy chairman of the ad hoc committee on the justice reform.
“There are issues that have to undergo political dialogue and it is the duty of the government and the ruling majority to create the conditions for political dialogue in order to resolve all the issues for which the Venice Commission speaks clearly,” Halimi added.
However, the majority is hopeful there will be a healthy debate for all the issues in justice reform draft which have previously been contested by the opposition.
“We are ready to accept any solution which makes the opposition a real part of the process. If sincere willingness exists, the end of March will find us voting constitutional changes in parliament,” Xhafa said.
Meanwhile, the Socialist Movement for Integration, the government’s key ally, insists on all inclusiveness on justice reform. The head of the SMI parliamentary group Petrit Vasili during a press conference this week called on all sides to find a common language.
Vasili said that after the final opinion of the Venice Commission on the judicial reform the process enters a new intensive phase and work for reaching a consensual draft should start immediately.
“There is no time to be wasted. We have to sit down and build political dialogue which reads with impartiality the Venice recommendations for the sake of a solid reform in the justice system which goes beyond political interests,” Vasili added.
