TIRANA, March 8 – The first meeting of the ad hoc committee on justice reform after the release of the opinion of the Venice Commission on constitutional amendments revealed that the reform’s progress will not be easy as the majority and the opposition are still at loggerheads on the issue.
The head of the committee, Socialist MP Fatmir Xhafaj proposed this week that the Venice Commission recommendations are reviewed again by experts in order to address them in a new draft.
But the opposition pressed for talks on a political level, and after nearly four hours of discussions, the meeting ended without a decision.
Although both political camps had made public declarations that the Venice Commission recommendations will lay the groundwork for future actions, this week’s meeting showed that consensus will prove hard to achieve, which raises serious question marks over what is considered as the most important reform in the country.
The deputy chairman of the committee Democrat, MP Eduart Halimi said the opposition has objections on 11 issues, which according to the opposition require political dialogue. The Democrats were not the only ones to express their concerns as the government’s coalition partner The Socialist Movement for Integration presented its own objections on at least 5 issues.
The opposition is against the establishment of the Justice Appointment Council, a new institution to be created as part of the justice reform project. It also disagrees with the termination of mandates of existing institutions. In addition, it disagrees with the structure and nomination procedure for some other institutions of the judiciary.
Socialist MP Pandeli Majko said that the opposition’s objections put the fate of the reform in jeopardy.
“The proposals you are bringing today clearly mean there will be no justice reform,” Majko said.
Meanwhile, the government’s key ally, the SMI, is against the establishment of two high courts, while it also opposes the idea the National Bureau of Investigation is under the jurisdiction of State Police, being in favor of a structure which is dependent by the Prosecution Office. It also demands a greater role of the justice minister among other things, a post currently held by SMI itself.
As differing views on the justice reform mean its fate remains uncertain, Speaker of Parliament Ilir Meta tried to downplay such fears by expressing his optimism regarding the successful completion of the reform.
“All sides have accepted and evaluated the Venice Commission recommendations, as a guideline to European best practice. We need to be more rational for an objective interpretation of all recommendations given by the Venice Commission,” Meta said.
“We have all the chances to reach consensus regarding all issues,” Meta added.
However, objections raised not only by the opposition but also by the government’s coalition partner mean that reaching consensus will be anything but easy.
The latest divergences between political sides on the justice reform have received the immediate attention of top foreign diplomats in the country. U.S. ambassador Donald Lu and the head of the EU mission to Albania Romana Vlahutin held meetings this week with the Speaker of Parliament Ilir Meta and the chairman of the ad hoc committee on justice reform Fatmir Xhafaj to discuss on the reform, which is seen as key to Albania’s European aspirations.
In fact, the international community has continuously highlighted the importance of the reform for the opening of accession talks.
Last week, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini told the Albanian parliament that the reform of the country’s justice system is fundamental to launch accession talks with the bloc.
