Author: Dallandyshe Xhaferri
In Albania, hundreds of citizens and detainees are waiting for decisions which seem to be dragging on for a long time, causing deep concerns about the country's justice and judicial system.
Redi writes worriedly on the platform "Sinjalizo" about his father, who has been in detention for a long time, awaiting the communication of the court's decision after being accused of domestic violence.
Redi is a pseudonym, but his father is not the only detainee awaiting the Justice's decision.
The People's Advocate, Erinda Ballanca, tells "Sinjalizo" that for 10% of the people who are in detention, despite the fact that there is a court decision, the decision has not been disclosed!
"The clarification of the decisions is evidently a problem in the conditions we are in, since many judges who underwent the vetting left unclarified files", - says Ballanca, which has caused thousands of stock files to be found in Albanian courts for years, violating the deadlines of the process of clarifying court decisions.
"Depending on different decisions, there is also a different duration. But, within a period of 30 days, all the decisions must be clarified", - says Ballanca, while Erida Skëndaj, the Chairperson of the Helsinki Committee in Albania (HCH), says that the delays are inexplicable
"The KShH has submitted to the Assembly for the High Inspector of Justice, that a delay of up to 120 days for the disclosure of decisions should not be tolerated, as long as the laws provide for shorter and mandatory deadlines for judges". says Skëndaj.
According to the official data of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), Albania has 247 judges, in other words 8.94 judges per 100.000 inhabitants. "This ratio is 60% less than the European norm (22.2 judges per 100.000 inhabitants)",- it is stated in the 2023 report published by the KLJJ.
Delay in clarifying decisions even before Vetting in Justice
12 years ago, Ilir Xhakja, known in the world of crime in Albania, fired a volley of bullets at the former Chief of the Shijak Police Station, Adem Tahiraj, during a police patrol in Katund Sukth, Durrës.
This event attracted the attention of the Justice institutions not only for the murder of the former Chief of the Police Station, but also for the first criminal proceedings against a judge in the country. The NT judge, who had previously followed another case of Ilir Xhakaj, had not clarified the decision for months.
According to data made public in one of the annual reports of Center for Public Information Issues (INFOÇIP), from the investigation carried out by the Ministry of Justice, it was found that the examination of a criminal case of Xhakaj in the Court of Durrës had not yet been completed, as the reasoning and submission of the decision to the judicial secretariat had been delayed for several months.
"In the criminal case against the defendant Xhakja, it turns out that the judicial process lasted about 1 year and 7 days, while the reasoned decision was delivered after 1 year, 7 months and 5 days from the date of its announcement",- it is stated in the report, emphasizing that the reasoning of the case has significantly exceeded the time of the judicial examination itself.
"The matter of the NT judge's non-disclosure of criminal decision no. 98, dated 9.2.2011 for such a long time, probably would not have caught the eye, much less become a problem, if the police commissioner A. Tahiraj had not would have been killed in the line of duty"- it is further stated adding that similar delays by the same judge were applied in about 60 other cases.
Citizens complain about Justice
Over the past three years, citizens and legal entities have filed hundreds of complaints with the High Inspectorate of Justice for reasons related to claims for unfair decision-making by magistrates during the review of cases, for delays in the reasoning of decisions, for delaying the trial by the side of the judges, but also for procrastination of the investigative activity by the prosecutors;
According to official data from the ILD, during the past year 879 complaints were filed by citizens and legal entities, while thousands of complaints remain from previous years.
"The object of consideration for the year 2023 is a total of 3703 complaints, including the complaints filed during this year (879). Of these complaints, during the year 2023, 2340 complaints were examined, of which 1268 are complaints filed with the ILD and 1072 are complaints from the backlog fund", - says the report published by ILD.
The issue of judicial delays has also reached the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg.
"On October 12, 2021, the ECtHR sentenced the Albanian state to 3500 Euros, plus court costs for the delays caused in the trial of two of its citizens (Barra and Kola Vs. Albania)"- it is stated in the official publication of INFOÇIP during the year 2023, among which it is emphasized that the phenomenon of appeals to the ECtHR for judicial delays beyond the reasonable term is expanding, based on the empirical observations of this organization.
Justice vs Self-Judgment
Enkelejda is just one of the citizens of Elbasan who has been knocking on the doors of the Court of Elbasan for 5 years to seek justice. Kuri addressed the judge, she could not think that she would be in the courtroom for 20 sessions and that 3 judges would be changed.
"I sued my employer for unfair dismissal. In the filed lawsuit, I asked for the salary of a full year of work, because the employer gave us half of the salary through the bank and the rest in hand", - says the 28-year-old as she says that she is already waiting for the decision of the Court of Appeal in Tirana.
"I had delays because the first two judges left the justice system during the vetting process, while the third judge made the decision that I am the winner of the case, but the other side sued the decision at the Court of Appeal in Tirana".
The Reform in Justice and the implementation of the New Judicial Map on February 1 of last year have influenced the slowing down of the handling of various court cases throughout the country. Today, Albania has 13 Courts of First Instance and only one Court of Appeal of General Jurisdiction in Tirana.
Durim Bajrami, lawyer and Chairman of the Chamber of Advocates in Vlora, tells "Sinjalizo" that the Reform in Justice was necessary, but not the way it was carried out.
"More than half of the magistrates were dismissed, leaving the courts empty. The court of Vlora had 18 judges, it reached 5 to 6 judges and today there are 12 of them, but the stack of cases carried have made them unable to catch up."
4 years ago, says Bajramaj, a criminal case in the Court of Vlora took 3 to 8 months to get a decision, while today only in the Court of First Instance citizens have to wait up to 2 and a half years.
"Today in the Court of Appeal of the General Jurisdiction in Tirana, the cases of 2017 are being judged. So, we are 7 years behind and this gap will deepen, because the files are being added while it is predicted that a case will go up to 15 years". - says lawyer Bajramaj for "Sinjalizo", adding that delayed justice poses a risk for citizens, who resort to self-judgment.
"Clients come to us for various issues. When I explain the process to them, that the case can take up to 2 years in the Court of First Instance, 10 years in the Court of Appeal in Tirana and up to 6 years in the High Court, that is, that it must wait 20 years for a decision, the customer leaves. There may be issues with conflicts and he says: I do not turn to the court, I will solve it by self-judgment".
Inaccessibility in Justice
Erinda Ballanca, the People's Advocate, says that for the first time in the country, there are fewer cases filed in court. At the national level, the number of filed cases, claims-lawsuits has decreased by 5%, an indicator of which can be the new judicial map.
According to a survey conducted by KSHH, where the participants were a sample of 612 individuals, it turns out that for most of the respondents, about 39.4%, distance completely or partially prevents them from opening a judicial process.
The financial impossibility to open a court process was not seen as a reason for 75,3% of the respondents.
"However, 1 in 4 people refer that there have been cases where, due to the financial inability to pay the court fee or to hire a lawyer, they have not sought the resolution of their disputes through the court"- it is written in the answer that AHC gave to "Signalize".
The problems of the judicial system require immediate attention and solutions to avoid serious social and legal consequences. Justice reform is a necessary step, but it must be accompanied by concrete actions to improve citizens' access to and trust in justice. Meanwhile, citizens remain waiting for justice, hoping that the day of fair and quick decisions will come soon.
This article was created based on input provided by individuals who have chosen to speak up. Share your story, empower others and be an agent for change. Visit the website: www.acqj.al/sinjalizo-dhe-ti/
