The �Justice for All� Coalition is concerned about the most recent developments in the country and the recent filing at the Constitutional Court of a request by the two judges� associations for repealing a number of articles of the Law �On governing bodies of the justice system�, Law �On the status of judges and prosecutors in the Republic �, as well as the Law �On the provisional re-evaluation of judges and prosecutors in the Republic of Albania�, known as the Vetting Law.
In a public statement they said that the already established jurisprudence of this Court and the foundations laid through a series of Venice Commission opinions, constitute in this case the perfect solution to address the claims raised by the judges� association.
"Our main concern is not related to the content of these provisions, as we are more than convinced that they reflect and observe the international standards for a fair, professional, accountable and independent judiciary, but because this request is the next deliberate attempt to delay the vetting process at its very core, by reducing the quality of such a vital process for the Albanian society," reacted this coalition.
According to them, the request aims at taking away from the vetting commission - yet to be established - �the ability of deciding on the totality of evidence�, and in our judgement, this would harm the vetting process. Additionally, for the same law, it is requested to prohibit the use of information coming from foreign bodies, or information on linkage of judges� relatives with organized crime, or even testimonies given in previous trials. At the same time, the standards on the judges to be selected to the Special Court are also harmed.
"From the position of an ordinary citizen, who has to wait endlessly at the court�s door, who is seeking justice but is not rendered justice, because he has neither money, nor influence and political support, a very simple question arises: �How is it possible that there are still attempts to impede the reform?
With regard to the Constitutional Court, we believe that its members will act to the best of their role, and will dedicate to this process the right attention and level of professionalism," added this coalition.
At the same time, they ask the Constitutional Court that, unlike the practice followed so far for this case, to ensure the required level of transparency in the entire constitutional process of reviewing these claims, and understand that even in their last breath, the corrupt and incompetent judges still pose a risk to undermine the achievements of the justice reform so far.