At an extraordinary meeting of judges held this Thursday, the immediate removal of private police services from guarding the courts was urgently requested, due to their inadequacy to guarantee effective security in court premises. Instead, it was proposed that the security of all courts in the country be taken over by the State Police and the Prisons, with their presence 24 hours a day, all year round.
This request was made public by Judge Gerd Hoxha, who presented a series of proposals following recent shocking events that have put the justice system on alert. According to him and other participating judges, experience has shown that private company personnel are untrained, poorly equipped, underpaid and institutionally unsupported, which poses a serious risk to the physical safety of judges and the normal functioning of the courts.
Proposal for urgent measures for security in the judicial system:
Given the current situation and the serious risks that are threatening the justice system and the judiciary, it is proposed that:
a) Call for public accountability from all institutional, political and media actors to stop inciting hate speech against judges. Without their respect and real protection, there can be no independent justice, the rule of law, nor citizens' trust in the judicial system.
b) To request the Government and the Parliament of Albania to urgently intervene in the laws that regulate the functioning of the judicial system, specifically to:
increasing safety in the workplace;
guaranteeing the life, health and property of judges and court employees;
reducing workload, increasing the quality of trials and shortening the time to complete court proceedings.
c) To request the High Judicial Council (HJC), in cooperation with the Government and the Assembly of Albania, to determine within 6 months the location for the construction of the Palace of Justice, where the Court of First Instance, the Court of Appeal and the respective prosecutor's offices will be located. The maximum deadline for the construction and delivery of this functional and secure facility should be 5 years.
d) Call on the responsible institutions of the judicial system to complete the approval of the Security Regulations for courts throughout the country within one week.
e) To request the Supreme Court of Justice, in cooperation with relevant institutions, to equip all courts in the country with security equipment such as scanners and metal detectors within one month.
f) The Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Justice, the State Police and the Prison Police should be requested to draft a new regulation within one week, in cooperation with the Supreme Court of Justice. Initially, this regulation should be approved by a normative act of the government and then included in the law. The aim is to:
The State Police and the Prisons Police should take custody of all court buildings in the country's territory, not only during official hours (08:00–16:00), but 24 hours a day, every day of the year;
The police should guarantee security and order in courtrooms, according to the requests of the judges themselves.
g) Private security companies should be excluded from guarding court buildings, as experience has shown that they are untrained, ill-equipped, underpaid, and have serious shortcomings in guaranteeing the physical security and integrity of judges.
h) To request the Supreme Court of Justice, in cooperation with the State Police, to immediately begin training security officers in the courts.
i) Create a special force specifically trained to guarantee security during court proceedings and in court premises.
j) Develop special security protocols for emergency situations in courts, including:
increased protection for judges and their families;
protection of property and workplace of family members;
protection of educational institutions attended by children of threatened judges;
guaranteeing the same standard of living in the event of incapacity for work due to work-related incidents.
k) To establish a permanent working group with judge members, mandated by the assembly of judges, to initiate the establishment of a Permanent Committee on Security in the Judicial System. This committee should include representatives from the Supreme Court of Justice, the General Prosecutor's Office, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Justice, the State Police and the Prison Police. The purpose is to draft and supervise the implementation of legislation related to security in courts and of judges.
