2020 was the year that marked the assigning of the OSCE leadership role to Albania and as a result, along with commitments on a national level, our country was also focused on regional and international involvement.
A group of organizations assumed the responsibility to express their unbiased and objective perspective on Albania’s performance.
The Justice-system reform was judged as one of the most transformative processes for our country in these past 30 years of democratic rule. The implementation of this reform has posed a great issue especially considering the current political climate in our country.
The parliament’s verdict on reconsidering and increasing the number of personnel in three instances of the vetting process resulted in a positive contribution in terms of the acceleration of the revaluation procedures for judges and prosecution officers.
According to the report, the High Counsel of Prosecution’s goal to create a more dynamic environment for the verification process of the magistrate candidates’ background and valuable assets was a crucial step for the reform of the justice system.
Another obstacle facing Albania continues to be the practical application of international conventions regarding anti-corruption and especially the lack of penalization for particular individuals.
The report speaks in a positive tone about the enactment of various international treaties and conventions on “anti-corruption”, with the help of which the national legislation has undergone a series of changes and continuous improvements.
“The formation of the National Bureau of Investigation and the consolidation of SPAK should result in an increase of pro-active criminal proceedings,” – says the report, which also stresses out the fact that the ventures of these institutions should communicate to the public the conviction that the war on corruption is non-biased and treats everyone according to the law while serving the public interest.
Honest and free elections was another of the main issues discussed in this report, which recommends the initiation of a reform for the electoral system that should be comprehensive, transparent and in accordance to standards of the OSCE/ODIHR. It is also said that the elections reform package remains incomplete as it is missing a total revaluation of the legislation dealing with political parties and funding for electoral campaigns.
