The High Judicial Council accepted the request of the High Inspector of Justice for disciplinary proceeding with the measure “Public reprimand” against magistrate A.Xh., who is a judge at the Court of First Instance of General Jurisdiction Kukës, related to the disciplinary violation considered as a repeated or serious violation of the rules of solemnity, the rules of conduct in relations with other magistrates. The disciplinary investigation by HIJ has been initiated on the basis of the review of the information reflected in the minutes of a general meeting of judges of September 2024, during which debates were held on several work processes in the court.
From the legal analysis of the facts established during the disciplinary investigation, the High Inspector of Justice has concluded that magistrate A. Xh., in her capacity as a member of the judging panel, violated the rules of conduct with other magistrates, (who were part of the panel), during a court public hearing. This behavior of the magistrate was continuous throughout the hearing, undermining the trust in justice of the parties present at the hearing, discrediting the position, integrity of the magistrate and subsequently the reputation of the court.
The investigation report notes that the disciplinary violation by the magistrate was committed with direct intent, this also being confirmed by the statements given by the magistrate herself during the disciplinary investigation.
The report highlights as a mitigating circumstance the fact that the magistrate has admitted that her behavior in the presence of the parties, in that public hearing, was not in accordance with ethics and that she should not have had that behavior in the presence of the parties. On the other hand, the magistrate has no previous disciplinary measure and has little professional experience, since the violation was committed in the first year of her work as a judge.
The High Inspector of Justice concludes that the behavior and actions of magistrate A. Xh., in this case are assessed as a “minor disciplinary violation” and proposed to the High Judicial Council the imposition of the disciplinary measure “Public reprimand” for judge A.Xh., provided for by article 105 point 1 letter “b” and article 107 of law no. 96/2016 “On the status of judges and prosecutors in the Republic of Albania”, as amended, a request that was unanimously accepted by the members of the High Judicial Council.