By Urita Dokle
TIRANA, June 23 – Albanian political parties are still failing to see eye-to-eye on the justice reform, a fundamental precondition for Albania’s accession to European Union. The ruling Socialists and opposition threw barbs at each other during Thursday’s heated parliamentary session. The Socialist Party chairman of the Ad Hoc Commission on Justice Reform, Fatmir Xhafaj said that the draft will be sent to the Assembly for vote whether the opposition accepts it or not. “It is time for the parliamentary groups to express their opinions on the constitutional amendments,” Xhafaj told lawmakers.
In the meantime, former Prime Minister Sali Berisha accused his successor Edi Rama of “wanting to become the country’s chief prosecutor, chief judge and chief investigator.” He underlined that the opposition will agree to vote on the reform only if the ruling majority accepts to implement recommendation 88 of the Venice Commission.
In addition, defiant Socialist Party lawmaker Ben Blushi accused both the ruling majority and the opposition of fighting over a process that Albanian people are not fully informed about. He argued that Albanian citizens lack necessary information about the draft as the process has been closed and difficult to understand for the majority of the citizens. “I do not know if we are coming closer or moving apart from the reform. I am convinced though than we are further away from justice. You do not seek any consensus with the people who have been ripped off their properties. In the last 18 months, nobody tried to explain the reform to the people. This reform does not protect the poor rather than political groups,” Blushi told MPs.
Albania’s opposition Democratic Party has halted all negotiations with the ruling majority on the justice reform since last weekend. Democratic Party chairman Lulzim Basha has accused the ruling Socialist-led majority of undertaking unilateral actions regarding the justice reform. According to Basha, all efforts to include the draft in the Assembly’s agenda of discussions will cause political turmoil and postpone the reform by another year. In addition, Basha called on Democratic Party MPs to show unity particularly since the ruling majority lacks the necessary votes to approve the reform on its own. The Democratic Party chairman reiterated the opposition’s request to implement recommendation 88 of the Venice Commission as “the only way the Judicial Reform can be adopted, and guarantee an independent justice system.”
“I urge lawmakers from the majority not to be politically swayed by Edi Rama. He is afraid of an independent justice system. The Democratic Party has made all efforts to guarantee a justice system that does not stand by crime, rather than a judiciary that serves the citizens. The reform will not be approved based on Edi Rama’s draft,” Basha said accusing the Prime Minister of being the enemy of the independent justice system.
Even former Parliament Speaker Jozefina Topalli, a Democratic Party MP, voiced her opposition against the reform. Topalli said she would never vote in favor of a reform that has been drafted by international experts. The internationals are our partners but this process cannot be done without Albanians,” she said.
The Socialist Movement for Integration, the ruling Socialists junior partner, has had a more balanced stance, calling for broad consensus on the reform.
Earlier on Wednesday, Socialist members of the Ad Hoc Commission on Justice Reform adopted in principle almost all the articles of the Constitutional Court bill, part of the justice draft package. “There are 3 or 4 articles related to the decision making process of the Constitutional Court that require an additional opinion by experts. We will review the remaining articles on Friday,” Xhafaj said.
The ruling Socialist Party has called on Parliament Speaker Ilir Meta to include these draft amendments compiled by the Ad Hoc Commission on Justice Reform in the agenda for review and approval within July.
The Chairman of the Socialist Party Parliamentary Group Gramoz Ruà§i has sent an official letter to Speaker of Assembly Ilir Meta suggesting accelerated procedures for the approval of these draft before the assembly rests for the summer holiday.
“The simultaneous approval of these draft constitutional amendments is part of the accord between involved political parties to make the process reliable,” Ruà§i noted.
He underlined that the review and approval of the draft constitutional amendments along with the additional seven draft laws should be a priority for the parliament. However at the meeting of the Conference of Parliamentary Chairmen, the Socialist Party members withdrew from their position and accepted the Democratic Party’s request that favors the official announcement at the Assembly only for the legal initiatives for the Justice Reform.
Few days ago, thirty-three members of the ruling majority presented an official request to approve the draft constitutional amendments. These amendments include the Constitutional Court, the High Court, the High Council of Justice, the Prosecution and other stakeholders involved in the governance of the judiciary. If approved the proposed amendments will set up new institutions of governance of the judiciary. They include the High Inspectorate of Justice, the High Disciplinary Tribunal and the Justice Appointments Council. The proposed amendments make a reallocation of responsibilities among the various justice institutions. The whole debate about justice reform revolves around the famous recommendation 88 of the Venice Commission which notes that all nominations in justice institutions must be done through “reserved seats” from the parliament and political parties. The Socialist Party on the other hand insists that nominees must be selected in an independent manner. Discussions about the reform are expected to last throughout June as the majority has postponed the vote of the draft for July.
