High Inspector of Justice, Mr. Artur Metani, Chairperson of the Constitutional Court, Ms. Vitore Tusha, Deputy Chairperson of the Albanian High Court, Mr. Sokol Sadushi, Chairperson of the High Judicial Council Ms. Naureda Llagami, Chairman of the High Prosecutorial Council Mr. Gent Ibrahimi, Prosecutor General, Mr. Olsian Çela, People’s Advocate, Ms. Erinda Ballanca and the Director of the School of Magistrates Mr. Arben Rakipi paid a working visit to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg and to the German Federal Constitutional Court, as part of a dialogue program for senior representatives of the justice system in Albania, organized by the Konrad Adenhauer Foundation.
High Inspector Artur Metani delivered his speech on “Independence and Impartiality of Judges”, seen generally and from the point of view of investigation and disciplinary proceedings, during a special session with the elected judges of the European Court of Human Rights.
“There are two real components in the independence of the judiciary: the impartiality and the independence of the judge and the court. The principle of impartiality implies the absence of prejudice by judges related to the case at hand as well as their not acting in such a way as to undermine the interests of one of the parties. A court must be impartial not only formally but also expressly. Not only does the right to be tried before a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law require that justice be done, but it also requires that it shall be seen to be done. The respect for the principle of impartiality must be verified by applying the subjective test, which deals with verifying the conviction or personal interest of a judge in a certain case and the objective test, which examines whether or not the judge has provided sufficient procedural guarantees in order to exclude any doubt (Kyprianou v. Cyprus; Micallef v. Malta; Piersack v. Belgium; Grieves v. the United Kingdom; Auschildt v. Denmark)”, said Mr. Metani
Referring to the most important consequence of the magistrates’ independence principle which is the irresponsibility for decisions given according to their conviction, the High Inspector of Justice said that there should be several ways to hold magistrates accountable, including their removal from duties in case of violations which justify this action.
“This is because independence is not a privilege, but a responsibility. In this case, there must be an ongoing process of balancing independence and accountability. These processes must be characterized by action and counter-reaction at the same time. The more powers the judiciary possesses, the higher the demands for accountability must be. The independence of the judiciary cannot be guaranteed if there is no will on the part of a society or political system to create a spirit of stability and democracy. The independence of the judiciary ultimately requires a non-authoritarian context and mentality. The conclusion that ‘there is no judicial independence without democracy and there is no democracy without judicial independence’ may be disappointing at first glance, but this conclusion clearly argues that democracy and the rule of law are linked together,” said High Inspector Metani.
The independence of the judiciary, measures to reduce the number of cases in the courts and cases of ECHR case law regarding Albania were discussed between the senior Albanian delegation and judges of the ECHR, Mr. Georges Ravarani, section president, Judge elected in respect of Luxembourg, Mr. Georgios Serghides, Deputy President of the Section, Judge elected in respect of Cyprus, Mr. Dmitry Dedov, Judge elected in respect of the Russian Federation, Mrs. María Elósegui, Judge elected in respect of Spain, Mr. Darian Pavli, Judge elected in respect of Albania, Mrs. Anja Seibert-Fohr, Judge elected in respect of Germany, Mr. Peeter Roosma, Judge elected in respect of Estonia Andreas Zünd, Judge elected in respect of Switzerland and Mr. Frédéric Krenc, Judge elected in respect of Belgium
