Justice Reform in Albania with Particular Focus on the Establishment of New Institutions

• Author: Gloria Çarkaxhiu
• Position: PhD Candidate, Law Drafting and Legal Analysis Department, General Directorate of Codification and Harmonization of Legislation, Ministry of Justice of Albania, Tirana
• Pages: 66-74

European Integration - Realities and Perspectives. Proceedings 2020

66

Justice Reform in Albania with Particular Focus on the

Establishment of New Institutions

Gloria Çarkaxhiu1

Abstract: This paper aims to focus to a very historic period of Albanian legislation that is the new Justice

Reform. The Republic of Albania has several years on reforming all the justice system by changin g the

structures and scope of most important justice institutions. These fundamental changes began with the

Constitutional amendments in 2016, by establishing a totally new system, and adding a number of new

institutions such as Judicial Councils, High Judicial Council (HJC), High Prosecutorial Council (HPC),

Justice Appointments Council (JAC), High Justice Inspectorate (HJI), Court against corruption and

organized crime, Special Prosecutor’s Office against corruption and organized crime, Special Investigation

Unit/National Bureau of Investigation and Re-evaluation Institutions. The method used for this paper is by

analyzing the current legal provisions and describes the new structures and competences of each institution,

by giving a presentation of the new Justice System in Albania.

Keywords: Constitution; Justice Reform; institutions; parliamentary commission

1. Origin of the Justice Reform

The origin of the Justice Reform starts in 2014, by Parliament’s Decision No. 96/2014 “On the

establishment of the ad hoc parliamentary commission on the justice system reform”2, in which the

Parliament of the Republic of Albania, perform its constitutional role and assumed the responsibility to

actively contribute to the reform of the justice system, by exercising its legislative function.

The ad hoc parliamentary commission established by Parliament’s Decision No. 96/2014 “On the

establishment of the ad hoc parliamentary commission on the justice system reform”, started its activity

with the aim to make an analysis of the situation in the justice system, to establish the objectives of the

judiciary reform and to propose the necessary constitutional and legal amendments.

The main purpose of the parliamentary commission was analysing the justice system focused on the

situation in the organisation, functioning, good-governance, efficiency and administration of the justice

system, with the intention to evidence the gaps and needs for improvement, in close collaboration with

the Ministry of Justice and other institutions of the justice system, national and international experts,

other interested subjects and the public opinion.

1 PhD Candidate, Law Drafting and Legal Analysis Department, General Directorate of Codification and Harmonization of

Legislation, Ministry of Justice of Albania, Tirana, Address: Blvd. Zogu I, Tiranë 1000, Albania, Tirana, Corresponding author:

gloriacarkaxhiu@gmail.com.

2 Parliament’s Decision No. 96/2014 “On the establishment of the ad hoc parliamentary commission on the justice system

reform”.