3 June 2022 President of the Republic, H.E. Ilir Meta decrees the appointment of Mr. Sokol Ngresi, as judge of the High Court
President of the Republic, H.E. Ilir Meta on May 31, 2022, has administered the proposal of the High Judicial Council, for the appointment of Mr. Sokol Ngresi as the newest member of the High Court.
Mr. Ngresi has been selected to be appointed to this court for the vacant position in the field of administrative law through the procedure of promotion from the ranks of the judiciary.
President of the Republic, after being acquainted with the decision-making of the High Judicial Council and the proposal forwarded by this body, together with the documentary practice of appointment, with the full will that the High Court be supplemented with all its necessary body, where thousands of files and the fate of citizens have been awaiting reviewing for years; the vital need that the country has for a fully functioning High Court; as well as considering the verification and evaluation by the HJC of the proposed candidacy, the President of the Republic has decided to express himself without delay for the acceptance of the HJC proposal.
For these reasons, pursuant to Article 93 and Article 136 of the Constitution, Article 48, paragraph 11 and 13 of Law no. 96/2016 “On the status of judges and prosecutors in the Republic of Albania”, as amended, through Decree no. 13646, dated 02.6.2022, has decided that:
• Mr. SOKOL NGRESI to be appointed a judge of the High Court.
With this new appointment, the High Court is made up of 13 (thirteen) judges, out of the 19 members it must have.
As of today, the High Court obtains the necessary quorum (2/3 of the members) to convene and adjudicate in the United Colleges.
The High Court, after 5 years of inability to exercise this basic function, from today can change/unify the judicial practice. From today it returns to functionality to review cases in the United Colleges and to fully fulfill its sublime mission and authority on matters that need to understand and unify law enforcement, thus ensuring the entire judicial system the development/change of the judicial practice, unification of jurisprudence, and a uniform position on various legal issues in the public interest, in respect of fundamental human rights and freedoms in the administration of justice.
This may seem like a small step forward, but the lawyers and the High Court itself understand very well that it is one of the most important.
The President of the Republic, uses this opportunity to repeat once again the public appeal to all governing institutions of the justice system but also to other decision-making actors that Albania has a vital need for a justice system, not only independent, but also fully functional and efficient. Citizens expect justice, and deserve it, within a reasonable time.
The President of the Republic also finds the opportunity to reiterate that:
• The independence of the justice system, especially for career judges, must be guaranteed at its core. Only this increases the confidence of the whole society in the justice system that should continuously provide a stature that guarantees the independence of judges and impartial actions of the public judicial service as a whole.
• The High Judicial Council, the Judicial Appointments Council, the High Prosecution Council, as well as all other state institutions involved or in support of these processes, must engage with all resources and with the will to do as soon as possible functional at full capacity the High Court, the Constitutional Court, and the prosecution system.
• For this, all other state institutions involved or in support of these processes, should provide and not become an obstacle to the work of the governing bodies of the system, to provide all the necessary information, seriously, appreciating the importance that has this issue and beyond any influence.
• No institution that supports the process of verification and evaluation of candidates for the most important Courts in the country, should not neglect the fulfillment of duties and provide information to the High Judicial Council, the High Prosecution Council, or the Judicial Appointments Council.
• In addition, attention should not be lost to the extreme need of the judicial system to fill the large vacancies created in the Courts of Appeal and the District Courts of First Instance.