The Parliamentary Laws Committee approved on Wednesday, with some changes, the proposals of Socialist MP Olsi Komici for two of the laws of the Justice Reform package, which also provided for a transitional provision for the appointment of court and prosecutor's office presidents, contested by the Judges' Association.
According to the version approved by the commission in the law "On the Status of Judges and Prosecutors", through this transitional provision, the appointed presidents of courts or prosecutors' offices are appointed to office for a transitional period from the entry into force of the law and until the new presidents are elected, but no later than December 2027.
In the initial draft, the proposal envisaged remaining in office until December 31, 2028.
This proposal was publicly opposed by the National Association of Judges, as an unconstitutional attempt that violates the standards of the rule of law, "usurps" the powers of the High Judicial Council, and violates the independence of the judiciary.
According to the association, the legal initiative does not take into account the fact that the Supreme Court of Justice has approved the relevant normative act regarding the procedure for electing presidents of first instance and appellate courts, an act which entered into force on January 1, 2026 and which precedes the opening of the competition for the positions of presidents in these courts.
The Commission also reflected changes in the draft proposals in the law "on the bodies of the judiciary", where the terminology used on the criteria for selecting candidates for the councils related to moral and professional integrity has been replaced with clear criteria such as; not having a disciplinary measure in force, not having previously been dismissed from office as a result of a disciplinary measure, in the case of former magistrates, having successfully passed the transitional re-evaluation process of judges and prosecutors or not having resigned without undergoing this process, while being subject to re-evaluation, as well as not having previously been disqualified from various positions due to verification of assets and character.
Other changes to this law provide for strengthening the criteria for verifying the assets and integrity of the candidates for the two steering councils that come from the legal profession and academia, strengthening the role of the Prosecutor General in the process of selecting heads of prosecution offices and adding criteria for vetting candidates for these positions, etc.
The Chairman of the Committee, Ulsi Manja, said that the approved changes were agreed upon with the European Commission and the Ministry of Justice, which was confirmed by Deputy Minister Tedi Dobi, present at the committee.
The legal amendments were also passed on Tuesday by the Committee on Civic Initiatives, Cooperation and Institutional Oversight, where Chairman Fatmir Xhafaj said that they aim to address in a substantive and informal manner the recommendations repeated in the resolutions of the Albanian Parliament and in the reports of international institutions, but that they do not solve all the problems faced by the justice system./Reporter.al
