OSCE, business community hail adoption of administrative courts law

TIRANA, May 7 – The Head of the OSCE Presence in Albania, Ambassador Eugen Wollfarth, has welcomed the approval of the law on administrative courts by the Albanian parliament.
“The law on administrative courts approved by the Assembly is expected to strengthen the justice system of the country, improve access to justice for citizens and businesses, and facilitate faster procedural actions and trials,” said Wollfarth. “All this is much needed for the further development of the country’s judiciary.”
“The draft was significantly improved since 2010 when it was first submitted to the parliamentary Laws Committee. The improvements were to a large degree a result of public consultations with stakeholders. This, together with a constructive working atmosphere inside the Committee, is an encouraging factor for the future reform and activities of the Assembly,” he added.
The adopted law sets clear criteria for selecting and further promoting administrative court judges in a transparent manner, based solely on their merits and with due regard for their qualifications, integrity, ability and efficiency. For the first time, this law stipulates an independent judicial review that will allow for the courts’ scrutiny of any legal infringement by an administrative body, including lack of competence, procedural impropriety and abuse of power.
The OSCE Presence in Albania has closely followed and supported the drafting of the administrative courts law. Together with international partners, it provided recommendations, including on merit-based selection of judges and increasing number of administrative courts.
The approval of the Administrative Courts bill by 122 votes was also hailed by business associations such as the Tirana Chamber of Commerce and industry and Business Albania.
Meanwhile, Ardian Nuni, a member of Albania’s Supreme Court says the law approved in consensus has flaws. “The approval of the law is one of the cases of giving precedence to consensus at the expense of the law. I have the impression, in the first stage of implementation, the law will impede rather than accelerate judicial control over administrative activity and soon it will need changes,” said Nuni at a conference on the judiciary reform.