After almost three years the Constitutional Court of Albania will become functional again. President Meta decreed today the candidacy of Përparim Kalo as the new judge of the Court, bringing the actual number of judges at 6, which is also the quorum required in order to have a functional Court. It took only a couple of hours from President Meta to approve the candidacy of Kalo, after the Justice Appointments Council sent earlier in the day the names of Përparim Kalo and Aleksandër Toma as possible candidates.
Kalo is the Founder and Managing Partner of Kalo & Associates, a leading law firm in Albania and Kosovo, and has a working experience of 38 years in the public and private sector. In Kalo’s resume published at his firm website, it is stated that “Mr. Kalo has advised on almost all landmark projects of privatization or concessions. He has also been active in drafting commercial legislation (concessions, renewable energy resources, financial leasing, secured transactions, arbitration, etc.)”
After Kalo’s appointment from Meta, the U.S Ambassador Yuri Kim reacted immediately through Twitter by considering it a “big news”, adding that the President, the Justice Appointments Council and the Parliament “deserve huge credit!” According to Ambassador Kim, having a functional Court means that Albania “meets condition for opening negotiations for EU membership.” In the same line was also the EU Ambassador Luigi Soreca, who congratulated the President, JAC, the Parliament and all the institutions who “delivered such a significant result”, adding that “it also represents a key step to complete the list of conditions necessary to launch the first IGC for the accession talks between the EU and Albania.”
European Commissioner for Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi applauded also through Twitter the appointment of Kalo as the 6th member of the Constitutional Court, considering it an “excellent news” and an “important achievement” that “completes the list of conditions for 1st IGC.”
International community’s pressure
In 2018, the Constitutional Court of Albania was closed for the first time since 1992, after 4 of its member did not pass the vetting process, and three more resigned or finished their mandate. The path towards having a new Constitutional Court wasn’t easy, and required a lot of pressure from the international community, especially the United States and the European Union.
The U.S Ambassador, Yuri Kim, became one of the key actors to push for the functionality of the Court, considering it vital for the integration reforms of Albania. Back in May, Kim called the attention of all the political leaders to show the “political will” to establish the Court. While she repeated the calls during the summer, in September she intensified the pressures, by putting the functionality of the Court as a goal to be achieved before the end of the year. From September to December, she urged for the formation of the Court, by meeting with President Meta, the speaker of the Parliament Ruçi and the Head of the JAC Vitore Tusha, whose institutions were essential in bringing forward the process.
The EU Ambassador Luigi Soreca, has also pushed almost on a daily basis for the need of establishing as soon as possible the Court, linking it with the EU integration process of Albania. “Having two candidates before the end of the year is a prerequisite for holding the first intergovernmental conference,” said back in October Soreca. In mid’ November, it became clear that the process of the opening membership talks between Albania and EU was going to be postponed, and one of the main reasons was precisely the lack of a functional Constitutional Court. Nevertheless, both the EU and the United Stated continued to ask for the functionality of the Court before the end of 2020, to not risk to have it done after the next parliamentary elections in April, and to bring closer the chances of Albania to open the membership talks next year.
The 6 judges appointed to the Court now are Përparim Kalo, Altin Binaj, Vitore Tusha, Fiona Papajorgji, Elsa Toska and Marsida Xhaferllari, from a total of 9 seats.
