State institutions move to address rule of law concerns

TIRANA, March 27 – Albania’s government and state institutions are moving to amend legislation and increase enforcement to address growing concerns over rule of law in the country.
The government said earlier this week it plans to amend the country’s key crime legislation, the penal code, in an effort to introduce tougher punishments for a variety of criminal trends that have created negative perceptions about rule of law in Albania, including the use of explosives, electricity theft and drunk driving.
The illegal possession of the explosive devices will see sentences of to 20 years in prison, a steep increase from the current five years. The proposed change comes following more than a dozen instances in which small amounts of explosives have been used in acts or targeted violence across Albania in recent months.
New penalties are also to be introduced against electricity theft, with individuals up to three years for individuals and up to five years for heads of businesses or institutions.
About half of the electricity produced in the country is either lost in the network or stolen from individuals, private companies and state institutions, officials say.
The government also wants to see prison sentences of up to three years for drivers caught driving while drunk. Only recently, that offense was only punished with a fine and driver’s license suspension.
Parliament last week also passed an amendment of a law on the fight against organized crime that w will allow authorities to confiscate property that is proven to have been purchased as part of criminal activity.
The Preventing and Striking at Organized Crime and Trafficking Through Preventative Measures against Assets Law aims to fight corruption through confiscation of assets that belong to people that cannot prove how they got the financial means to obtain them — and it is largely aimed to target criminal activity and corruption.
Fighting organized crime and corruption have long been tied to Albania’s progress toward EU membership.

Ambassador, judges charged

The tougher penalties are to be accompanied with tougher enforcement and checks on crimes, including corruption, officials say.
Auditors in charge of monitoring the income of public officials say they have filed charges against an ambassador and two judges who have allegedly failed to justify to auditors their personal income and property.
Agim Isaku, ambassador at the Czech Republic, and two judges, Ken Dhima and Klorinda Cela, face charges made by the High Inspectorate of Declaration and Audit of Assets, in charge of checking personal income and property of all the public officials in the country.
Authorities have accused the ambassador of hiding the source of 147,000 euros he used to buy a 268 square meter apartment in Tirana. He is also accused of hiding bank deposits of his relatives, not declaring the source of some money used by his daughter to buy another apartment. He also has to clear up the source of annual periodic interests for 2010, officials say.
Isaku denied he had hidden his property. In a statement made to the media, he said he was shocked by the news, which he had learned though the media and not officially from the institution.
Isaku added he would follow up with legal action of his own to put in place his personal dignity.
Judge Dhima, on the other hand, has been accused of presenting a false statement on the first installment used in buying an apartment. He has not made clear where he found a one million lek deposit and has also allegedly offered a false statement of taking a loan of 2 million leks from another person. He is also accused of presenting other false documentation and of hiding bank deposits.
The other judge, Cela, is accused of also presenting a false document used in buying an apartment, not clarifying the source of 720,000 leks used for that. She also is accused of other false documentation and of hiding bank deposits.
Justice Minister Nasip Naco said Tuesday after the news that his ministry had already started disciplinary proceedings against the two judges.
But whatever decision they take it will be up to the High Council of Justice, led from the country’s president, which will decide on their professional future.
Fighting corruption remains a top priority for the country along its efforts of democratization and of integration into the European Union.
The new government has placed a new head in the auditing institution and has pledged to check all the officials of their money and the ways they have secured it in the last decade.

Mayor’s home attacked

But the efforts of authorities with law enforcement face an uphill battle as the trend of attacks with explosives continued this week with another high-profile target.
The home of the head of one of Albania’s largest communes was hit with an explosion in the middle of the night, causing some damage to the outside wall and scaring those inside, authorities said.
The explosion occurred at the private home of, Fatbardh Plaku, the long-time mayor of Farka Commune, which sits just south of the City of Tirana.
Authorities first believed that a small amount of TNT explosives was used in the attack, part of disturbing trend of such attacks in Albania recently.
However, security camera footage showed that a rocket-propelled grenade was more likely used, according the Plaku and police, which made the video public.
Plaku said he knew of no one who would want to hurt him, however, his job was seen as the primary reason for the attack by investigators.
Plaku, a representative of the Democratic Party, has been serving as mayor of the commune for 15 years, and his commune is growing into Tirana’s wealthiest suburbia.
The Democratic Party issued a statement condemning the attack on its representative, accusing the government of not being able to keep security in the territory.

Reform planned to target power theft
One of the symbols of lack of proper rule of law in Albania over the past few years has been the massive theft of electricity that takes place. Albania’s Energy Ministry says it is hoping to address the matter as part of a deep reform in the energy sector, which it says it is currently in crisis.
The reform will consist in a better bill collection, getting rid of network losses and lowering energy production prices for small hydro power stations.
Minister Damian Gjiknuri spoke about the reforms Monday at an economic forum held in Tirana with the support of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
“The energy sector risks degrading further unless reforms are undertaken,” said Gjiknuri, adding the energy sector is already in a difficult situation.
Half of the electricity produced in the country is stolen by consumers through illegal access, officials say.
Answering questions on the postponed drafting of a new state law on renewable energy, Gjiknuri said that law is flawed and needs to be reviewed.
The minister said the Socialist-led government aims to liberalize the energy market.
The government has also set bill collection as a top priority, officials say. A new amendment to the criminal code will increase punishments for power theft to three years for individuals and up to five years for heads of businesses and other entities.
But authorities are also worried the country may find itself in a bad situation later this summer following a lack of rain and snow during winter, which usually fills the reservoirs or the lakes of the hydropower stations in northern Albania along the Drini River.