Tirana, 25 Oct (Tirana Echo) – The Constitutional Court of Albania has suspended today the crucial ‘vetting law’ part of the justice reform package, arguing that it is not in line with the European Convention of Human Rights while it may be violating the Constitution of Albania.
The case was sent to the constitutional court by a group of MPs from the opposition Democratic Party who argued that the ‘vetting law’ which would have kicked off an unprecedented ‘scanning’ process of all judges and prosecutors in Albania, interferes with human and constitutional rights of Albanian citizens.
In a press release issued this afternoon, the Constitutional Court of Albania said that its members have taken the decision to suspend the Vetting Law (No. 84/2016, dt. 30.08.2016 “For the temporary reassessment of judges and prosecutors in the Republic of Albania”).
The court has requested the “advisory opinion from the Venice Commission related to the incompatibility of the vetting law with the European Convention of Human Rights and with the Constitution of the Republic of Albania”, while it has accepted the request of the Union of Judges to take part in the following phases of court proceedings a an interested party.
The suspension of the vetting law by the Constitutional Court means that the whole process of the justice package implementation approved by the Albanian Parliament in July and August 2016, will be put on hold and further delayed, pending on the Venice Commission opinion, the advisory body of the Council of Europe composed of independent experts in the field of constitutional law.
The Venice Commission which has already advised the drafting group of experts preparing the justice reform package, had initially expressed concerns about the incompatibility of the ‘vetting law’ with the ECHR, however it said that given the current alarming circumstances of corruption in Albania, the proposed bill could be adopted on a ‘temporary basis’.
The latest decision of Albania’s highest judicial body is a blow to Albania’s governing coalition and to its main international partners the United States and the European Union, whose representatives have pressed Albania’s politicians to get on with the implementation phases of this overhaul of the entire justice system in the country.
The delay of the implementation process suggests an aggravation of the political scene which is already marked by constant rhetorical tensions, and it may affect the decision of the European Council this coming December on whether to open the green light for Albania’s accession talks for EU membership.
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