“Everything will close in six months and Albanians will either have an Administrative Chamber or an Administrative Court,” says Justice Minister Eduard Halimi
TIRANA, Nov. 29 – Tirana will have the country’s first administrative court in six months after renovation in an existing building owned by the Justice Ministry is completed. This was announced by Justice Minister Eduard Halimi who assured that even if the two major parties fail to reach consensus on the bill that required a qualified majority of votes, Albania will have its Administrative Chamber.
“Everything will close in six months and Albanians will either have an Administrative Chamber or an Administrative Court. This technical solution will be made as soon as possible,” Halimi told Top Channel TV this week, unveiling that the court will be set up in Tirana’s Don Bosko Street.
The bill to establish an administrative courts system has been put back on the Parliament’s agenda after the opposition’s break of the parliamentary boycott and is likely to be approved after both the ruling Democrats and opposition Socialists approved some changes to codes needing 3/5 of votes in consensus. The bill, which requires a qualified majority of 84 votes, has been compiled as of almost two years but has failed to receive approval because of political stalemate between the government and opposition over election disputes. Since 2009, the opposition has mostly boycotted Parliament and refused to give its consensus over laws needing a qualified majority of votes. Opposition Socialist MPs have requested that the law is turned back for discussion in parliamentary commission before being given the final approval. Failure to establish the administrative courts system and implement a tax amnesty reform were the two big disappointments of Albanian politics for the Tirana Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2010. 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 was 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. The embassy had warned that the bill should have been passed by September 30, 2010 in order not to jeopardize continuation of US government assistance on the project. Business costs associated with the absence of administrative courts are 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. Konfindustria expresses disapproval
Albania’s business community represented by Konfindustria describes the government’s intention to establish Chambers of Commerce instead of the Administrative Courts as insufficient to solve business problems. In a statement issued this week, Konfindustria said that Administrative Chambers cannot replace the Administrative Courts in handling businesses and individuals disputes with state institutions.
A promoter of the Administrative Courts bill since 2009, Konfindustria appeals to the majority and the opposition to find consensus in approving the Administrative Courts bill as soon as possible.
“Every other and unilateral action would have no impact in practice in improving the current unacceptable situation businesses and citizens face with state institutions,” added Konfindustria.
