Prime Minister Edi Rama declared on Friday that he will move forward with the legal initiative that blocks the measure of suspension from office for members of his cabinet, as well as other changes to the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code, despite concerns that these initiatives could be a threat to the functioning of the rule of law.
The initiative proposing an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Code was prompted by the decision to suspend former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Belinda Balluku, who is accused of violating equality in tenders.
"It is a necessary change that will be made, as we have said and it is in the process and will be voted on, it is not discussed at all," said Rama.
"There is no chance that it will ever happen again in Albania that a prosecutor and a judge will be brought in to suspend the vital functions of the government or other institutions that they cannot delegate," he added.
Rama also admitted that these are not the only legal changes that will be undertaken in this regard.
"We will definitely make other changes, because we have the new Criminal Code, we have the necessary interventions in the Criminal Procedure Code," said Rama, adding that these were not intended or 'dreamed' to roll back justice reform, but to improve it.
Legal changes affecting the functioning of justice bodies have concerned the Special Prosecution Office, SPAK, which in its annual work report describes initiatives aimed at limiting procedural means and its independence as "a serious risk to the constitutional function of SPAK and to the rule of law itself,"
The Prime Minister responded sarcastically to these concerns.
“…I think it is not SPAK's job to tell the Albanian Parliament what the Albanian Parliament should do. SPAK should mind its own business, we should mind ours…,” Rama said, adding that the parliament “does not depend on SPAK, nor on embassies, nor on anyone else.”
The draft proposal for the new Criminal Code was presented several months ago by the Ministry of Justice and was criticized by justice system and civil society actors as an initiative that brought "confusion and uncertainty", while it provided for the mitigation of corruption penalties for senior officials and seemed to eliminate their penalties for important criminal offenses such as abuse of office and violations in tenders.
Rama changed his rhetoric towards the work of justice after accusations were made against his close associate, Belinda Balluku, accused of repeatedly violating equality in tenders.
On Thursday, the socialist majority used its votes in Parliament to reject SPAK's request to authorize an arrest warrant against Balluk, providing it with political cover against the ongoing investigation. European Union member states and the EU delegation in Tirana expressed concerns about the consequences this stance could have on the European integration process and stressed the independence of the judiciary and the non-obstruction of SPAK's work. /BIRN/
