5 August 2019 President Meta decrees the declaration of two laws approved by the Albanian Parliament
The Institution of the President of the Republic declares that the President of the Republic, in the exercise of his powers, pursuant to Articles 84 and 93 of the Constitution, has decreed by declaration the 2 (two) laws adopted by the Parliament of Albania, namely:
1.By Decree No.11249, dated 05.08.2019, the President of the Republic has approved; “The declaration of law no. 48/2019 “On some additions and amendments to Law no. 96/2016 “On the Status of Judges and Prosecutors in the Republic of Albania”
The fulfillment of additions and amendments to this law have been argued by the Parliament as necessary to fill the vacuum created by Decision no. 34, dated 10.04.2017 of the Constitutional Court, which has repealed as incompatible with the Constitution some provisions of this law, dealing with:
Environmental incompatibility;
Outdoor activities;
Evaluation;
Categorization of some of the disciplinary violations;
Additional disciplinary measures;
Access to documentation during the disciplinary process;
Suspension from office;
Activities related to the disciplinary function or process carried out against judges and prosecutors in the Republic of Albania, etc.
In addition to these legal additions, the President of the Republic found that the legislator by law no. 48/2019 has also carried out more than 14 other interventions in law no. 96/2016, in order to repair, improve, clarify and harmonize the provisions of Law No. 96/2016 in its entirety.
This shows that, at the time of the adoption of Law No. 96/2016, this act, besides having had an unconstitutional problem addressed by the Constitutional Court, also addressed other deficiencies in the nature of the legislative technique, incorrect expressions, errors in references etc, that if it had been judged in depth and not rushed by national and international experts at the time of drafting law no. 96/2016 and approved by the Parliament of Albania, would not exist.
Although the Albanian Parliament has made the necessary changes to the law no. 96/2016 in a delayed time, to be exact more than 2 years after the decision of the Constitutional Court (April 2017), the President of the Republic again welcomes these legal changes and for these reasons by Decree no.11249, dated 05.08.2019 has decided to declare and approve this law.
The President of the Republic shall promote and encourage the High Judicial Council and the High Council of the Prosecutor, or other organs of the justice system as provided by Law No. 96/2016, dated 06.10.2016 “On the Status of Judges and Prosecutors in the Republic of Albania”, now amended to make sure that the entire judicial and prosecutorial system must function properly.
After completing and improving the law, it is now the duty and responsibility of the respective bodies to apply rigorously, not only the law no. 96/2016, but the whole constitutional and legal framework of the package on the reform of the justice system, to enable our country to have honest and accountable, professionally competent judges and prosecutors who must be admitted, appointed, and develop their careers within the justice system, based on a evaluation and promotion system which is based on merits, professionalism, and accountability.
The respective bodies should not tolerate any negative behavior or phenomena within the justice system and should take all necessary measures as soon as possible for the judicial system to be operational and serving the citizens.
Any act of the magistrate that violates the image of a judge and prosecutor in the Albanian justice system must be verified, investigated and judged in accordance with constitutional standards and in accordance with the strict requirements of the law.
2.The President of the Republic also by Decree no. 11250, dated 05.08.2019, has approved “The declaration of the law no. 54/2019 “On the legislative initiative of the voters in the Republic of Albania”.
This law enables citizens to submit to Parliament draft laws for approval.
This law aims to regulate the detailed procedure for undertaking popular legislative initiatives by 20 thousand citizens with voting rights, starting from the moment of registration of the initiative, until their submission to the Parliament of Albania for consideration and approval.
This regulation by law is necessary due to developments in increasing the rights of citizens to participate in the governance of the country.
In these circumstances, the promotion of the popular legislative initiative, as part of the constitutional institutions of direct democracy, has been recognized as a pressing need by the President of the Republic, and for this reason by Decree no. 11250, dated 05.08.2019, he has approved the declaration of law no. 54/2019.