SUPPORT TO JUDICIAL REFORM IN THE WESTERN BALKANS EVALUATION OF JUDGES STUDY VISIT IN PORTUGAL Albanian Situation Marsida Xhaferllari and Brunilda Kadi Albanian Delegation May 2018

Historical Background Albanian Constitution approved in November 1998: independence and impartiality of judges as core values to ensure the due process; Primary legislation on judiciary provided in 2003 the concept of judges’ evaluation – detailed rules by sublegal acts to be approved by the High Council of Justice; The first Evaluation System approved in 2006 and was implemented only once: the period of evaluation 2005 - 2006 The second Evaluation System approved in 2010 and was implemented in two rounds: the periods of evaluation 2007 – 2009 and 2010 - 2012

Justice Reform in Albania 2016: Albanian Parliament approved constitutional amendments to reform the judiciary; Around 40 laws were amended, as part of the Reform; Key words: Fight against corruption, Integrity, Eradication of Political influence and Responsibility. Law No 96/2016 “On Status of Judges and Prosecutors”, entered into force in 22nd of November 2016 provided a new Evaluation System The new Evaluation System is to applied for judges and prosecutors

The Albanian new System of Evaluation The key document: Opinion No 17/2014 of CCJE To be applied from 2013 and forward for judges and prosecutors of all levels and jurisdictions; To be applied by the new Institutions: High Council of Judiciary for judges and High Council of Prosecutors for prosecutors Currently it’s been implemented during the vetting process to evaluate the third component – the proficiency of judges and prosecutors

The Albanian new System of Evaluation It’s a formal System: the basis and main elements – set out clearly and exhaustively in primary legislation: Law No 96/2016 “On status of judges and prosecutors” The Council for Judiciary plays the central role. Cooperates with the judge himself, president of the court and other relevant institutions Aims: improving the quality of justice through increasing the professional skills of magistrates, establishing quality standards and giving the proper information to the relevant Councils

The Albanian new System of Evaluation Objective criteria: Qualitative indicators combined with quantitative indicators; The criteria: Professional capacity (legal knowledge and legal reasoning) Organizational skills (ability to handle the workload; the skill to handle judicial procedures and the skill to administer the judicial files) Ethics and commitments to professional values (ethics, integrity and impartiality); Personal skills and professional commitment (communication, cooperation with the peers and readiness to be involved in other professional activities)

The Albanian new System of Evaluation Sources of evidence: sufficient and reliable: Evaluation of president of the court and the self- evaluation; Statistical data (volume, time spent on trials, clearance rate etc) Data on the complaints against the judge, including disciplinary sanctions No of cases where the judge was recused on grounds of conflict of interest Up to 21 cases selected by lot to be monitored Documents on trainings

The Albanian new System of Evaluation The fairness of the procedure: the extended and active participation of the judge himself till the right to appeal The period of evaluation differentiated among judges on grounds of seniority: 3 years for young judges and 5 years of senior judges The link between evaluation and promotion

The Albanian new System of Evaluation Challenges: Establishing the new institutions as soon as possible and immediately training them properly with the new rules of evaluation Drafting detailed manuals, standard forms and illustrating examples for evaluators and judges; Establishing a tradition through impelemnting successfully the law and not amending it time after time; Raising awareness among judges on the importance of the evaluation

The Albanian new System of Evaluation ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION