Tirana, 22 Oct (Tirana Echo) – The International Monitoring Operation (IMO) on Justice Reform stands ready to start the vetting of judges and prosecutors in Albania as key IMO members have been appointed from Germany, Austria, Netherlands and Italy, amid confusion on the starting date from Albania’s key authorities.
The first name confirmed by Albanian media so far is German Reinhard Priebe, former director for Western Balkans at the DG enlargement in Brussels, who used to monitor the pre-accession process for countries in the region.
The EU Delegation to Albania said that the “IMO stands ready to help Albania in this very important and sensitive process as soon as Albania forms its vetting institutions”, hinting at unnecessary delays by the Albanian authorities.
After President Nishani’s refusal to start procedures on appointing members of the two vetting bodies, it is now up to the Ombudsman to start the process rolling. However, no date has yet been confirmed for the start of work, despite the fact that since constitutional changes passed in parliament, the internationals have insisted that there should be no further delays in the vetting process.
Albania will for the first time in two decades start to totally overhaul its entire justice system with the vetting of current and future judges and prosecutors as its first step, in what seems to be a gigantic endeavor to clean up the country’s corruption.
The International Monitoring Operation, a body agreed by Albanian lawmakers to monitor the whole process of justice reform and its implementation, can start work only after the special qualifications commission and the college of appeals have considered applications for those wishing to be part of the newly created institutions.
The law obliges the Ombudsman to consult with the IMO in order to finalize the list of those candidates who fulfill the criteria which then opens up the way for the next stages of building up justice institutions, with the special anti corruption prosecutor seen as the key body to go after corrupt officials in Albania.
After her last visit to Tirana this summer, EU High Representative and Commission Vice President Federica Mogherini called on all “Albanian partners to demonstrate their commitment to this reform by adopting it and putting all their efforts into its implementation. Citizens of Albania expect their political leadership to deliver on this”.
The European Union and the United States have been firm in their demands that Albania cleans up its justice system before it can advance in its accession talks for EU membership, which is expected to be taken into consideration for a decision in the December meeting of the European Council.
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