Today the HJC accepted the request of the High Inspector of Justice for the suspension from duty of E.K., magistrate in the Court of First Instance Elbasan, until the end of the disciplinary proceeding and asked the HIJ to conduct further investigations into the disciplinary violation attributed to the magistrate.
On May 30, 2021, High Inspector of Justice Artur Metani started on his initiative, a disciplinary investigation against magistrate E.K., Deputy President of the Elbasan Judicial District Court, who is also the President of this court. The investigation started after some videos which bore the logo of the social network application “Tik Tok” went viral on print and visual social media. In these videos magistrate E.K. appeared in her office premises and inside a vehicle with provocative behavior and music in the background inappropriate for the image of a magistrate.
In his statement before the members of the High Judicial Council, the High Inspector of Justice said, among other things, that the disciplinary investigation proves that magistrate EK has committed acts contrary to the principles of the magistrate integrity and the principle of good conduct and self-control, provided in the Code of Judicial Ethics. The magistrate’s off-duty conduct and actions as well as the ones in her office premises, discredit the image and position of the magistrate and damage the public trust in the judicial system, and are considered a very serious disciplinary violation.
High Inspector of Justice Metani underlined that “The judge must maintain and enforce high standards of conduct and shall personally respect these standards in his judicial and personal conduct. Not only must the judge convey justice, but he should also convey high credibility, ethics and integrity in giving a court decision. To accomplish this, his conduct must reflect it in every aspect of his work and life.”
Based on the conclusions of the disciplinary investigation, High Inspector of Justice Artur Metani proposed to the High Judicial Council, the suspension from duty of the magistrate E.K., until the end of the disciplinary proceedings and the disciplinary measure “Dismissal” provided by Article 111 of Law no. . 96/2016 “On the status of judges and prosecutors in the Republic of Albania”, as amended, for disciplinary violations provided by Article 140, paragraph 2, letter “a” of the Constitution of the Republic of Albania “, Article 103, paragraph 1, letter “dh” of law no. 96/2016 “On the status of judges and prosecutors in the Republic of Albania”, as amended, as well as violations of the Code of Judicial Ethics approved by the High Judicial Council with Decision no. 171, dated 22.04.2021: Section “C” “Principle of integrity”, letters “a” and “b”, Section “Ç” “Principle of good conduct and self-control”, paragraph 9, letter “c”.
