Albanian Judges To Rule on Judicial Vetting Law

The Union of Albanian Judges, the largest such organization in Albania, will on Friday issue its standpoint on the controversial vetting law, which is designed to cleanse the justice system of corruption and political influence.

The union led by Judge Gerd Hoxha unites more than 200 of the 364 judges in Albania.

The law on vetting, adopted in August, calls for the scanning of around 800 judges and prosecutors in Albania in terms of their professional ability, moral integrity and level of independence from organised crime, corruption and political officials.

But the opposition, led by the centre-right Democratic Party, refused to participate in the vote on the law in parliament.

In October, it sent the law to Albania's Constitutional Court, claiming the new vetting process was biased and created the possibility for "witch hunts" agains judges and prosecutors.

The Constitutional Court then decided to stall implementation of the law and asked the Venice Commission to give an opinion on its right to rule on the issue, given that the members of the Constitutional Court are also subjects of the same law.

On October 24, the Union of Judges asked the Constitutional Court to register them as an interested party in the ruling, while on Friday they will disclosure their stand on the law.

"We are directly affected by the law, so we have asked to be an interested party in the ruling ... We will decide our stand on the law at the next meeting," Judge Gerd Hoxha said in October.

The stalling of the vetting law, considered a core part of the long-awaited judicial reform process in Albania, has caused much political debate, as implementation of the law is seen as crucial before Albania can start EU accession talks, possibly later...