Albania's Top Prosecutor Slams Judicial Immunity

Tirana | 23 October 2009 | Besar Likmeta
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Ina Rama

Albanian General Prosecutor Ina Rama has called for a constitutional amendment that would restrict the immunity of judges, in order to strengthen the fight against corruption in the judiciary.

“It's problematic because [while] prosecutors can be investigated without hassles, we don't have the possibility to investigate judges, who are granted immunity by the constitution,” Rama said on Thursday at a conference on judicial reform.

“If the General Prosecutor's Office seeks the authorisation to investigate a judge on corruption-related charges, the investigation has already become public and it its difficult to move forward,” she said, adding: “It's not possible to investigate a judge on corruption, if he knows that he is being investigated.”

Rama also spoke out against corporatism in the judicial system, illustrating her argument with cases where prosecutors arrested on corruption charges were set free by the courts.

According to the 2009 European Commission progress report, judicial reform in Albania remains in its early stages, with little progress made thereon in the last year.

“Key pieces of legislation needed to complete the legal framework have not been adopted and the justice system continues to function poorly due to shortcomings in independence, transparency and efficiency,” the report found.