Albanian Judicial Reform Faces New Court Challenge

The National Association of Judges and the Union of Albanian Judges have filed a lawsuit with the Albanian Constitutional Court, challenging the legality of the Law on the Governing Institutions of the Justice System, the Law on the Status of Judges and Prosecutors and the Law on the Reassessment of Judges and Prosecutors, known as the 'vetting' law.

The lawsuit was filed on June 1 and BIRN has now obtained a copy of the document, which has not been made public.

The three pieces of legislation are part of a comprehensive judicial reform package, which is a prerequisite for Tirana to open accession negotiations with the European Union.

The lawsuit comes amid a hotly-contested campaign for the June 25 parliamentary elections, and at a point when an ad hoc parliamentary commission is selecting the lawyers that will be part of the vetting bodies.  

In their request filed with the Constitutional Court, jusdes' associations seek the disqualification of a number of articles of the vetting law which regulate the vetting of the integrity of judges and prosecutors in regards to their ties with organised crime.  

The associations oppose as unconstitutional the scrutiny over ties between the judges, prosecutors and organised crime in the period going back to January 1, 2012.

Another provision of the law they reject relates to possible ties their relatives and people close to them might have or had with organised crime.

The lawsuit in particular challenges the procedure on which the vetting of the integrity of judges and prosecutors will be based and the way evidence will be collected by the Independent Qualification Commission and the Appels College - the two vetting bodies that are currently being created.  

The associations...