Tirana Times
TIRANA -In a Monday statement by the U.S. embassy in Tirana, Washington warned that delaying the approval of the law on the administrative courts jeopardized the continuation of assistance funds for the establishment of the administrative courts system.
Immediately following the statement, Parliament Speaker Jozefina Topalli invited the opposition to include the bill in the nearest session. The governing Democrats blame the opposition for not passing the bill.
The opposition Socialists have been boycotting any vote in parliament since July, pressing for a compromise on last year’s parliamentary elections, which they claim were manipulated by the Democrats.
The U.S. Embassy urged the passage of the draft law “On Adjudication of Administrative Disputes and the Organization of Administrative Justice,” known as the Administrative Courts Bill and said that in order to complete planned activities with U.S. funding, the new law must be passed by Sept. 30, 2010.
The Administrative Courts Bill is one of six components of the Millennium Challenge Corporation Threshold Program II for Albania, which was signed in September 2008.
The draft law has been pending in parliament since early 2009.
“Failure to enact this legislation will result in the closure of Administrative Courts activities administered under the Threshold Program by USAID,” said the U.S. Embassy statement.
The Administrative Courts law is essential to helping Albania promote transparency in the judicial system, strengthen the rule of law, and to boost citizen trust in public institutions, its supporters say.
The Administrative Courts Bill would establish seven courts that would adjudicate disputes of citizens and businesses on matters such as employment, tax, customs, pensions, property registration, and compensation of property, as well as other important issues.
In addition, the establishment of these courts would further align Albania’s judicial system with required EU integration standards. U.S. assistance for the Administrative Courts Program will not be continued in the absence of the current bill, the statement added.
The statement is the latest pressure point on Albania’s parliament, which is flooded with impending bills that go unvoted due to the political stalemate between the two major political groupings _ the governing Democratic Party of Prime Minister Sali Berisha and the main opposition Socialists of Tirana Mayor Edi Rama.
