Six first instance administrative courts will be set up in the country’s key regions of Tirana, Durres, Shkodra, Korca, Vlora and Gjirokastra, cutting procedures and time for both businesses and individuals in disputes with state institutions
TIRANA, May 1 – A three-instance court system will finally be set up in early 2013 to deal with administrative cases after both majority and opposition MPs reached consensus on the final changes to the bill requiring a qualified majority of 3/5 of votes, ending a four-year saga. Six first instance administrative courts will be set up in the country’s key regions of Tirana, Durres, Shkodra, Korca, Vlora and Gjirokastra, cutting procedures and time for both businesses and individuals in disputes with state institutions. The Appeals Court and Administrative College of the Supreme Court as the final instances will be available only in Tirana.
In the next eight months, MPs expect to appoint the judges and arrange the premises for the new administrative courts which will be established in current court facilities to save time and funds.
“The draft law we approved brings obvious improvement to the initial draft in the concrete changes made to each article,” said Armando Subashi, an opposition Socialist Party MP and drafter of the law.
The bill foresees that administrative judges will be tested before their appointment and have job experience of 5 to 9 years.
The bill was approved in principle early last March by both the ruling Democrats and the opposition Socialists after almost four years of being blocked due to a prolonged political stalemate after the 2009 general elections and consensus on bills requiring qualified majority of votes reached only in late 2011.
The Civil Service Commission, an independent institution overseeing the stability of the public administration will merge into the newly established courts system.
In its latest country report on Albania, the European Commission warned delays in establishing the administrative court due to lack of political consensus remained an obstacle to investment.
The Administrative Courts draft law was approved by government in autumn 2008 but failed to be discussed in Parliament after the 2009 general elections first due to the opposition’s parliamentary boycott and later because of ongoing political stalemate. Positive signals came only in late 2011 when both the majority and opposition ended their political stalemate by approving several Codes requiring 3/5 of the votes.
In October 2010, the United States embassy in Tirana announced it was withdrawing its financial support for the Administrative Courts bill after both the majority and opposition failed to find consensus on its approval in Parliamentary because of the ongoing political stalemate since the June 28, 2009 general elections. In a statement, the embassy said that failure to pass this law resulted in the withdrawal of continued U.S. assistance to the Administrative Courts component of the nearly 16 million dollars from the Millennium Challenge Corporation agreement. The Administrative Courts law is designed to reduce opportunities for corruption, improve transparency in the judicial system, strengthen the rule of law, boost citizen trust in public institutions, and further align Albania’s judicial system with required European Union integration standards. The law was identified as an important requirement for Albania, and it has had wide support from political parties and from the business community. Business costs associated with the absence of administrative courts are estimated at more than 400 million euros a year, say government officials who were pushing to have the law on the new court system approved in parliament.
