Albanian Constitutional Court

The Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday dismissed claims by former judge Altina Xhoxhaj that her rights to a fair trial and to respect for private and family life were violated in 2018 when she was fired from the Albanian Constitutional Court after an investigation showed she owned properties whose cost could not be justified by her income.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras's official visit to Albania, where he was scheduled to meet his counterpart Edi Rama, has been postponed until after Greek Orthodox Easter, with no precise dates released as yet.

President Ilir Meta on Tuesday refused to provide the authorisation for further talks with Greece to resolve the sea border disagreement, demanding further information on what and how the government will negotiate.

"The request doesn't clearly define the object of negotiations for which the authorisation is requested," Meta said in a statement.

The National Association of Judges and the Union of Albanian Judges have filed a lawsuit with the Albanian Constitutional Court, challenging the legality of the Law on the Governing Institutions of the Justice System, the Law on the Status of Judges and Prosecutors and the Law on the Reassessment of Judges and Prosecutors, known as the 'vetting' law.

The Albanian Constitutional Court decided on Tuesday to stall one of the core laws on judicial reform, a move that experts believe could jeopardise the country's chances of opening EU accession talks this year.

The court accepted a request from the main opposition Democratic Party to stall progress on the Law on Reassessment of Judges and Prosecutors, known as the 'vetting' law.