Albania

110 Years of the Supreme Court - The IRZ is a guest at the anniversary celebration in Albania

Details
Published: August 8, 2023
Conference on “The jurisprudence of the Supreme Court: from national identity to universal values” to mark the 110th anniversary of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Albania, 10 May 2023, Tirana (Albania).
Conference on “The jurisprudence of the Supreme Court: from national identity to universal values” to mark the 110th anniversary of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Albania, 10 May 2023, Tirana (Albania).
Albania

An international conference was held in Tirana on 10 May 2023 on “The jurisprudence of the Supreme Court: from national identity to universal values” to mark the 110th anniversary of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Albania. The IRZ and a judge at the Federal Court of Justice, Ms. Babette Pohl, were guests of honour at the anniversary celebration.

The conference focused on Albanian judicial reform, the EU integration process and the role of Supreme Courts in bringing national judicial practices in line with international standards.

The conference participants included judges from the Supreme Courts and Constitutional Courts of Albania, Italy, France, Azerbaijan, Turkey, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Germany, the European Court of Human Rights and the United States Tax Court.

In the opening speeches, the Vice-President of the Supreme Court of Albania, Mr. Sokol Sadushi and the President of the Constitutional Court of Albania, Ms. Holta Zaçaj, emphasised the importance of an independent judiciary as the foundation of the rule of law and as a basis to gain the trust of the people in the judiciary. President Bajram Begaj stated that the Supreme Court of Albania makes an indispensable contribution to aligning Albanian jurisprudence with the principles of European justice and ensuring the protection of human rights. Ms. Naureda Llagami, President of the High Judicial Council of Albania, again underlined the need for judicial reform in Albania, and also the ongoing challenges in this respect.

From the international side, Ms. Christiane Hohmann, Ambassador of the European Union in Albania, underlined the importance of a qualitative and independent judiciary as one of the most important pillars of EU integration. She emphasised that councils of judges and Public Prosectors should uphold the high standards of scrutiny to ensure the independence, accountability and efficient functioning of the judiciary. Ms. Yuri Kim, Ambassador of the United States of America to Albania, also reiterated that a strict separation of powers was essential.

During the conference, approx. 15 panellists discussed specific issues in front of over 150 participants regarding:

  • the role of Supreme Court case law in shaping national legal culture (Panel I)
  • the consideration of international standards in the case law of Supreme Courts (Panel II)
  • the road to EU integration: historical perspectives and current challenges in shaping the role of Supreme Courts (Panels III and IV)

The conference gave participants a valuable opportunity to share experiences and to discuss common challenges. The talks focused at all times on the importance of an independent, transparent and professional judiciary as the foundation of the rule of law and the EU integration process. In particular, the essential role of the Supreme Court of Albania was highlighted in the implementation of judicial reform.

The IRZ invited Ms. Babette Pohl, LL.M., judge at the Federal Supreme Court, to present a lecture on the relationship between the European courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union In her presentation, Ms. Pohl emphasised the preliminary ruling procedure under Article 267 TFEU to ensure the standardised application of Union law and emphasised the resilience of the European judicial system, despite recent disputes between national Constitutional Courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union. The lecture ended with the appeal that European case law is an essential instrument for the protection of fundamental rights, the protection of minorities and the preservation of the rule of law in Europe. 

Ms. Pohl was accompanied by Ms. Dr. Frauke Bachler, General Director of the IRZ, and Ms. Anja Finke, Deputy Head of the South East Europe II / South Caucasus project area. The celebrations also included numerous talks with representatives of partner organisations of the IRZ from Albania and the region.

Expertise and documentation software for the Supreme Court Documentation Office

Details
Published: February 27, 2023
Study trip from 23–25 November 2022 to the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig for employees of the documentation centre of the Albanian Supreme Court.
Study trip from 23–25 November 2022 to the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig for employees of the documentation centre of the Albanian Supreme Court.
Albania

IRZ also supported the Albanian Supreme Court Documentation Office in 2022, which started work in June 2021. This cooperation is also within the framework of a project on “court organisation” funded by the Federal Foreign Office.

Study trip for employees of the Albanian Supreme Court Documentation Centre to the Federal Administrative Court

From 23–25 November 2022, the eight employees of the Albanian Supreme Court Documentation Centre were able to learn about the methods and processes of legal documentation at the Federal Administrative Court and to gain a practical insight into its diverse tasks.

Prof Dr Andreas Korbmacher, President of the Federal Administrative Court, opened the study trip. Mr. Benjamin Weber, Head of Legal Documentation at the Federal Administrative Court and his team presented the tasks and organisation of their department. The participants were then introduced to the first two in-house services, the journal content service and the article service as part of a tour of the courthouse.

On the second day of the event, the Albanian documentarians gained a comprehensive overview of the process of a decision document at the Federal Administrative Court and the documentation of a decision in juris – the legal information system for the Federal Republic of Germany. The delegation also gained an insight into the documentation and research options in juris.

The last day of the event was dedicated to the presentation of the “Documentation Office for Environmental and Planning Law” and European cooperation in the area of legal documentation. Here, the organisers presented the JuriFast database and the Judicial Network of the European Union (JNEU).

The participants enjoyed some lively and engaged exchanges with their colleagues from the Federal Administrative Court. They gained specialist knowledge, experience and ideas for the further development of the Supreme Court in the Albanian Documentation Office.

New documentation software for the Supreme Court

The start-up “jurmatix”, in collaboration with IRZ, developed software for a case law database at the Supreme Court of the Republic of Albania in 2022. The decisions of the Albanian Supreme Court will be documented here by the documentation department in the future. The judges can also access a research interface.

IRZ provided significant support for the judicial activities at the Albanian Supreme Court and made a contribution to more efficient and transparent court administration. IRZ will also support the documentation department of the Albanian Supreme Court and organise joint seminars on the subject of legal documentation in 2023.

Conference on “Judicial ethics and disciplinary proceedings against judges”

Details
Published: February 27, 2023
Attendees at the conference on the specifics of disciplinary proceedings against judges and issues of judicial ethics held in Albania on 14-15 November 2022.
Albania

IRZ organised a conference on 14-15 November 2022 on the specifics of disciplinary proceedings against judges which explored issues of judicial ethics with the Special Appeals Chamber of the Republic of Albania. The IRZ invited Dr Frank Czaja, Presiding Judge at the Cologne Higher Regional Court and Dr Ingo Werner, Judge at the Cologne Higher Regional Court provided insights into German practice.

The first day of the event was attended by six judges and ten scientific employees of the Special Appeals Chamber to discuss questions of substantive disciplinary law. The conference started with a welcome from Ms. Anja Finke, Deputy Head of the IRZ section Southeast Europe II and South Caucasus and Ms. Albana Shtylla, President of the Special Appointments Chamber of the Republic of Albania. She gave a detailed explanation of the role, tasks and current challenges of the Special Appeals Chamber. The subsequent presentations by the two German experts focused in particular on the course of official disciplinary proceedings and the proceedings before the judicial service courts.

The second day of the event focused on the formal aspects of disciplinary proceedings against judges and was aimed at around 20 employees of the administrative apparatus of the Special Appeals Chamber The participants discussed questions around the anonymisation and publication of decisions in the context of disciplinary proceedings along with formal points regarding responsibilities, procedures and deadlines.

The event was supported by the Federal Foreign Office as part of a project funding on “court organisation”, and was held in a climate of trust and honest discussion and a particularly active and fascinating exchange between the German team of speakers and the representatives of the Special Appeals Chamber.