Author: Ermal Spahiu
The fight against corruption and organized crime has been the permanent and most important condition of Brussels for Albania in the process of joining the European Union. EC reports have consistently ranked Albania at the top of the list of countries with a high level of corruption in governance and the justice system. At the same time, the fight against corruption is the first point in every electoral platform of political parties during the campaign, while afterwards, in governance, it is forgotten.
In 2016, the Justice Reform was approved with a unanimous vote of 140 votes in the Albanian assembly to pave the way for a very important process in the fight against corruption. More than the desire or will of the Albanian political factor, this reform was the indisputable result of the continuous pressure of Albania's strategic partners, the USA and the EU. Substantial support began with the drafting, approval and then implementation of the justice reform.
In this material, we have tried to make an analysis of the financial support that the European Union has given to Albania, throughout the eight years of the progress of the justice reform, as well as the results that have come so far from it.
EU financial support started immediately after the adoption of the justice reform in 2016 and is continuing with important projects, affecting specific sectors of the justice reform.
The European Union has allocated millions of euros to the most important sectors of the justice system, from which concrete results are expected in the justice reform.
The Ministry of Justice has told ACQJ (Albanian Center for Quality Journalism), that the EU has allocated 79.06 million euros for the implementation of the reform in justice from 2016 until now. The table below shows us the projects where these funds have been allocated.
EU grants for the implementation of justice reform from 2016 to date
Tabela 1
| The IMO project | Value | contracts | Implementation period |
| IMO I | 5 million Euros | IPA 2016/038-717 | 2017- February 15, 2020 |
| IMOII | 14.7 million Euros | IPA 2019/412-370 and IPA/2021/424-808 | October 1, 2019 – March 31, 2023 |
| IMO III | 9.7 million Euros | IPA/2023/442-735 | April 1, 2023-March 31, 2025 |
| EURALIUS project | Value | contracts | Implementation period |
| Euralius IV | 4 million Euros | IPA 2014/346-900 | September 2014 – March 31, 2018 |
| Euralius V | 7.5 million Euros | IPA 2018/395-806 | 01.04.2018- 31-December 2022 |
| Euralius VI | 2.5 million Euros | IPA 2022 | January 14, 2023- January 14, 2025
|
| Sectoral Contract "EU for Justice Reform" | 34 million Euros | IPA 2018/040211 | July 2019 – December 2023 |
| Technical Assistance for the implementation of the Cross-Sector Strategy of Justice
|
1.66 million Euros | IPA /2022/433-19 | June 15, 2022- June 14, 2024 |
The EU delegation also clarifies that it is in contact with the Albanian authorities with the aim of launching in the coming months a new project to support justice institutions in setting up an Electronic Case Management System, where the contribution is planned to be 7.5 million euros.
"The rule of law and fundamental rights" was one of the programs with a financial value of 34 million euros, which spanned the period 2019-2023. The grant given by the European Union was aimed at achieving important results in the fight against corruption and strengthening the rule of law, the basic reasons for which the Reform of Justice in Albania was approved. This grand would be allocated to several institutions including: Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Finance, Government of Judicial Institutions.
The project should have been completed in January 2023. At the end of this project, we should have concrete results in several areas.
But what has been achieved so far thanks to this cooperation, this EU support for justice reform in Albania? According to the Ministry of Justice, the results so far thanks to the support of the EU are very positive. For ACQJ, the Ministry of Justice clarifies that for 4 years, from the date of signing in July 2019, until December 2022, 19.5 million euros have been disbursed, while the EU proposed the extension of the contract for the year 2023. The three proposed indicators are:
- Indicator 2: Improving the processing of complaints against judges and prosecutors (ILD)
- Indicator 5: Increasing the efficiency of the functioning of the Supreme Court (SJL)
- Indicator 7: Improvement of Mediation Services (Durres Court and DHKN)
"The value for the extension of the Sectoral Contract "EU for Reform in Justice" is a total of 5 million euros", the Ministry of Justice states in its response to ACQJ.
The Ministry of Justice also clarifies that almost all the results according to the items have been achieved.
Tabela 2
| - Pursuant to Indicator no. 1: "Creation of new judicial institutions and their functioning (High Judicial Council KLJ, High Prosecution Council KLP)" the new institutions of the judicial system KLJ, KLP have been established and are functioning at full capacity. Also, the HCJ has exercised its powers in carrying out the process of appointing judges to the Supreme Court |
| - Regarding Indicator no. 2: "Improving the process of complaints against judges and prosecutors within the framework of legal provisions. Formal formation and functioning of the institution (High Inspector of Justice)" the institution of the High Inspector of Justice has been established and is functioning. During this time, the process of examining complaints against judges and prosecutors within the framework of legal provisions has been improved, reducing the number of complaints accumulated by the previous institution. |
| - Regarding Indicator no. 3: "Improving the quality of performance for the Master's School (Master's School)" the methodology of the Master's School has been adopted including all three quality components (curriculum quality, staff quality and continuous training quality. The E-Platform has been created Online Learning Moodle of the School of Magistrates which is used by the school registering the new initial and continuing training courses for magistrates, together with the registered participants.The platform administers a significant number of users, such as judges, prosecutors, teaching staff, administrative staff , court chancellors/prosecution offices |
| - Referring to Indicator no. 4: Improved capacity for legal education by the School of Magistrates (School of Magistrates), the capacities for legal education of magistrates of the School of Magistrates have been improved. The school has entered the new premises of the Pole of Justice building since 2019 and develops its activity in the same building as the KLGJ and KLP |
| - Implementation of Indicator no. 5: "Decreasing cases registered in the High Court (High Court)" is related to the improvement of the efficiency of the activity of the High Court. The appointment of new judges at the Supreme Court and legal advisors has made it possible to reduce the number of cases brought before this court |
| - Within the Indicator no. 6: "Improving and increasing the use of alternative means for convicts (General Directorate of Probation Service)" has increased the provision of alternative punishments for convicts. The Probation Service institution monitors and reports on the implementation of these decisions by the convicts |
| - Referring to Indicator no. 7: "The Free Legal Aid Services are functional (DNJF) The Reform in Justice gave importance to citizens' access to justice, this very important component also in the context of the integration process in the European Union. Law no. 111/2017 "On Legal Aid Guaranteed by the State", brought about a deep reformation of the legal aid system, bringing a new spirit in terms of the organization, operation and provision of legal aid guaranteed by the state. The main purpose of this law is to provide free legal aid to all categories, which, due to the conditions in which they are, find it impossible to provide this service. A special attention has been paid to the beneficiary categories, focusing on the expansion of the circle of subjects as well as the sanctioning of vulnerable groups as direct beneficiaries of the free legal aid system. Regarding Primary Legal Aid, 14 (fourteen) primary legal aid service centers are functional in Tirana, Durrës, Shkodër, Lezhë, Lushnje, Pogradec, Gjirokastër, Vlorë, Dibër, Kukës, Elbasan, Korçë, Berat and Fier. 15 (fifteen) non-profit organizations operating in Tirana, Durrës, Elbasan, Vlorë, Berat, Shkodër have been authorized by the Minister of Justice. (Innovation, public-private partnership in fulfillment of the joint mission "Equal access to justice for categories in need and vulnerable groups". 12 (twelve) Cooperation Agreements operating in Tirana, Vlorë, Durrës and Shkodër have been signed with Legal Clinics. the request for primary legal aid has been accepted by all the applicants, by all the providers of this service.
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Results achieved by EU support
The EU supports the result of this project in the report coming from the Ministry of Justice, but it also has its own mechanisms to measure performance.
"EU support includes seven performance indicators, each of them evaluated on an annual basis. The assessment is based on official data provided by the annual reports of the respective institutions, a consolidated report by the implementing partner (in this case the Ministry of Justice with input from judicial institutions) and an independent assessment by experts directly contracted by the EU. . Finally, an independent evaluation of the budget support operations is then carried out by the European Commission after the programs are completed", explains the EU delegation office.
In the response of the EU delegation office, it is also emphasized that the budget support has indicators that evaluate progress in these areas:
| Tabela 3 |
| Performance of the Graduate School, |
| Providing free legal aid |
| Recourse to alternative punishment measures (probation service) |
| Increasing integrity in the judiciary (with special focus on the work of the High Inspector of Justice) |
Gladis Gjipali, leader of the "European Movement", EMA, says that the EU has given great support to the integration process, and in particular to the justice reform. He talks about positive results in the process so far, but also about problems related to delays on the part of Albanian institutions.
"I think that the results are positive, the technical element has helped to have a review and drafting of a high number of legal acts, while in terms of delays, they mainly came from politics and the lack of internal human capacities," says Gjipali.
In response to the question whether problems may have been encountered with the management of the EU grants for justice reform, the delegation clarifies: The European Union supports Albania in reforming and modernizing its judicial system through direct financial transfers to the national treasury. These transfers are not automatic. They take place after the Albanian government has met some specific conditions, which are agreed in advance and which are linked to a regular performance evaluation, include a policy dialogue and also include capacity building measures.
The Ministry of Justice also talks about the problems in the management of EU funds.
In response to the ACQJ's question, "Have you encountered problems with the management of funds in all EU support programs, similar to those of the IPARD program for agriculture?", the Ministry of Justice responds as follows: since we are dealing with the implementation of the reform in the justice system and most of the management of the funds has been against the new institutions established by the Reform in Justice, this has brought difficulties to manage the funds from the Ministry of Justice as institution responsible for implementing the reform. However, the fact that the disbursements have been carried out, serves as an indicator of the fruitful cooperation in this aspect".
The Ministry of Finance, as one of the important institutions for the management of EU funds for the justice reform, clarifies that there have been no management problems, but there are some obstacles.
After approval in 2016, the Justice Reform was expected to be implemented with a budget of around 175 million euros by 2020. The costs seemed modest in the first years of the reform's implementation, but this was related to delays in staffing the new bodies. of justice. During 2019, costs continued to increase, as it was the period when the special structure against crime and corruption, SPAK, was being established.
For the action plan implementing the Strategy against Organized Crime and Serious Crimes for the period 2023-2025, it is expected that the Government will allocate a fund of almost 100 million euros for the fulfillment of the objectives. According to the action plan, it is predicted that the total cost of continuing the justice reform will reach 96 million euros for the period 2023-2025. Of this amount, 10 million euros are expected to be provided by donations from international partners, while 86 million euros are expected to be allocated from the state budget.
According to experts, the reform in the justice system is the most important reform, which has brought positive and tangible results.
"The reform found the Albanian institutions unprepared, as they did not offer solutions for thousands of overdue files in the judicial system. Delayed justice is missing justice for thousands of Albanians. Individuals and businesses have rightly sought the effect of justice reform on their problems for decades. For the part of the reform that deals with the fight against corruption and organized crime, there are concrete positive effects. The challenges still remain big and difficult", says Arben Malaj, economic expert, former finance minister.
According to economic expert Zef Preçi, the support for justice reform has had results that have led to a slight improvement of the public's trust in justice as a whole.
Selami Xhepa also speaks optimistically about the results of the justice reform so far. "The fact that we have seen cases of very important people in politics such as: mayors, ministers, deputy prime ministers, a former prime minister, who is also facing SPAK, so judging by the cases that SPAK has taken into consideration over the years last, I think it gives us hope and optimism that this reform will succeed", says Selami Xhepa.
"In the European Commission's annual report for Albania, in the last 2 years, the positive assessment of the justice system and other areas related to the reform has been clearly expressed," says Gladis Gjipali, head of the European Movement.
For the first time during the period of the EU integration process of more than 20 years, Albania is in a more favorable situation than all other countries in the Balkans. In this situation, other issues beyond Albania's will and capacity influence, but the Justice Reform remains the country's greatest achievement in this process.
