Wednesday, May 13, 2015

The alumni and participants of the “Albanian School of Political Studies” were part of the debates organised with experts and group of interest held by the special Parliamentarian Commission on Justice Reform. The meeting was held on 12 May 2015, at the premises of the Parliament, with the presence of the chairman of the Special Commission, Mr. Fatmir Xhafaj and the constitutionalist, Mr. Luan Omari. The event was designed as a round table with the aim to exchange ideas and recommendations on Justice reform. Mr. Xhafaj presented the work being done so far on the reform process, key components, the composition of working groups, engaging the best experts in fields, international assistance, technical structure of the Special Commission, as well as vision and challenges of this important process for the country. Prof. Luan Omari, part of the group of prominent experts of the Special Commission, and also an observer of the Venice Commission, stressed the importance of the professional debate and efficient way of this commission, significantly different from methodology and philosophy of past reformative processes. The participants were very active with the discussions, comments and questions on raising the level of performance of judges, law enforcement instruments, the fight against corruption at all levels, reliability to the public, organization and functioning of administrative courts, resolving issues through mediation and arbitration etc. Mr. Erjon Tase, the executive director of the Academy of Political Studies (APS), submitted officially to the Special Committee, a policy paper comprising 16 recommendations on the efficiency of the judiciary, prepared by the participants of the school as part of their public initiatives exercise. The recommendations will became part of the analytical document prepared as result of several meetings and different working meeting with lawyers and other professional groups. In conclusion, Mr. Fatmir Xhafaj, encouraged all participants to continue to provide their input in the process, with suggestions and proposals. The Commission will distribute by email the analytical document and the alumni of the school might further contribute to the process.