The High Inspector of Justice, Mr. Artur Metani, gave an interview to the journalist Mustafa Nano, in “Arnautistan”, a show on MCN TV.
When asked about his perceptions regarding the position he has been holding for almost 16 months now, Mr. Metani compared it to a challenge full of surprises and satisfaction, but also a great moral and professional burden, among those who believed in him and especially the citizens’ expectation. “Above all, there is a great burden from the entire Albanian society, which expects visible, fast results from these new institutions, such as the High Inspector of Justice.”
Speaking about the justice reform and its progress, the High Inspector of Justice said that it is a process that needs time to prove itself, but it also requires commitment, not only from institutions but also from citizens. “I think that the success of the reforms and new justice institutions does not depend on the work of Artur Metani, or the work of the SPAK prosecutors or colleagues working in the High Judicial Council and the High Prosecutorial Council. Justice is a lively, dynamic concept nurtured by all of us within the sphere and the obligations we have as citizens. Undoubtedly, most of it belongs to Artur, Arben Kraja of Spaku and so on with all the officials who work everywhere but it also belongs to us, citizens, including me, we have our obligations when we educate our children: do not cheat as it is wrong, do not park illegally, your dad will not ask your teacher to give high undeserved grades, your dad will not pay money for your school. It all amplifies, and then we come to the part where we ask for justice, for something we have not done ourselves since we were young children. So I mean we all need to help justice develop. It is not something that depends simply on the work of the institution but on all of us. Even on journalists, I think. “It is a concept that needs blood, food and love,” said Mr. Metani.
The High Inspector of Justice spoke about thematic inspections, the already announced priority of the institution he leads, to identify and address the phenomena encountered in the courts and prosecutors’ offices of the country.
When asked about the case of the magistrate from Elbasan, for whom ILD has requested suspension and dismissal in the High Judicial Council, Mr. Metani said that he understands the public sensitivity, but he acts on his conviction based on law, based on the public official personal conduct, and even more so a magistrate, who sits in judgment on the lives of others. “For this reason, you have to be very strict in your conduct, you have to restrain yourself and you have to give up on a lot of things that others can do freely, even though they may be within the private sphere. This is crucial for the impact that your decision-making has on the citizens. “
The HIJ reaction was quick, said Mr. Metani, because the public deserved a quick response from the institutions responsible for that and consequently, although I pay attention to the perceptions that are conveyed to the public, the decision of the High Inspector of Justice is based on the law and nothing else. “I negotiate my conviction based on the law with nothing; no article or public statement.” said the High Inspector of Justice.
Read the full interview of the High Inspector of Justice:
Interview of High Inspector of Justice Artur Metani to the journalist Mustafa Nano on MCN TV.
Journalist Mustafa Nano: Artur Metani, High Inspector of Justice is in the studio with me. Thank you very much for being here. For those who are unfamiliar with this term, it is an institutional position, which has existed for a year in Albanian history. It is a new institution, an institutional innovation, introduced in the framework of justice reform. Is it a good experience for you?
High Inspector of Justice Artur Metani: It is a good experience of course and without a doubt, a professional satisfaction. It is a challenge with many surprises ahead, but also with a lot of satisfaction. Above all, it is a burden on my shoulder, a burden that firstly comes from inside. It’s a big burden that comes from my family and friends, from those who voted for me, who gave me a lot of confidence. Above all, a burden from the whole Albanian society, which expects fast visible results from these new institutions, such as the High Inspector of Justice.
Journalist Mustafa Nano: In the history of the new institutions that have been established by the justice reform, if you were to make a hierarchical list of these institutions, what would be the position of the High Inspector of Justice, at the top of the list, in the middle, at the end?
High Inspector of Justice Artur Metani: I do not think there is a hierarchical list of justice reform. I think that the infrastructure and architecture of justice reform, i.e. the new institutions, are very well placed in the big picture, where each institution does not allow the other institution to abuse its office. Every institution can be monitored by everyone. Each institution has its competencies and it is independent in using its competencies. Each of its competencies can be monitored by another institution, which means, for example, if the HIJ has certain decisions, the decisions of the High Inspector of Justice can be monitored and verified by the High Judicial Council, or by the High Prosecutorial Council respectively when it comes to judges or prosecutors. The decisions of these Councils may be verifiable by the Constitutional Court or the Special Appellate Panel, the special body of the Constitutional Court. This means that every institution has control and balance of its competencies.
Journalist Mustafa Nano: Mr. Metani, I have no doubt that it is as you say, but I have since thought, I still think today a posteriori, that the number of these institutions seems a bit large, it seems as if there is an institutional entanglement there. You say there is no overlap. Is this an Albanian experiment? Can such a large number of institutions be found in all justice systems?
High Inspector of Justice Artur Metani: Justice Reform is a big colossal reform. Namely, it is one of the biggest reforms that has been carried out in this country and it has touched the foundations of one of the biggest powers of the state, which is the justice system. The constitutional concept changed, the laws implementing the constitution also changed. In my view and my experience as a jurist, the architecture set up under this reform is very good. What remains to be seen is how the communicating vessels among these bodies or the newly created structure are, how they work, how the competencies circulate within the system and we cannot say that today. It needs time, it needs to be seen. That’s why I say that it is too early to say if the reform is good or applicable, bad or not bad; it is a reform that creates justice or does not create independence and so on. We must see how each body and institution uses its competencies and after enough time has passed for these competencies to be seen, our inductive reasoning based on certain facts and logic will tell us if this reform is successful or not.
Journalist Mustafa Nano: But aren’t you afraid that one day you may say: it seems to me that we have messed it up with this institutional entanglement?
High Inspector of Justice Artur Metani: No, I am sure of that! If I ever remark, I will say for example, that this thing is not well resolved in this communicating vessel. There is a need for another kind of communication between institutions, but I do not believe, I am convinced that I will never say that this reform was not worth it, or as you said “we messed it up”.
Journalist Mustafa Nano: Let’s talk about your position. As the head of this institution Mr. Metani, you became visible to everyone especially because of an event that has recently happened, which has to do with a judge in Elbasan. How do you become active in such circumstances? How is the institution activated and who activates it?
High Inspector of Justice Artur Metani: There are two ways to activate the institution, or more precisely three ways: the first way is the complaint of the citizens, i.e. every institution, every citizen, every individual or entity, which has a specific interest or a complaint about a judge or prosecutor, or about a trial has the right to send a complaint to the High Inspector of Justice. Then this complaint goes through the inspectors’ filters, according to the procedures provided by law. The second way is…
Journalist Mustafa Nano: Is a complaint automatically handled or it can also be ignored? So can it be thrown in the bin?
High Inspector of Justice Artur Metani: No, no. It is assessed and without a doubt, if there are grounds for it to go further, e.g. for investigation, it goes for investigation. If there are grounds for it to be archived, because for one, two, three reasons, it is archived, but the citizen is always given an answer, at any moment. This is what I tried to do last year.
Journalist Mustafa Nano: This is not the case we are talking about.
High Inspector of Justice Artur Metani: The second way is thematic inspections, which, in my view, is the cornerstone of the High Inspector of Justice work. Thematic inspection means that the Inspector’s work focuses on the issues and phenomena that concern the justice system today, the judiciary and the prosecution. So, you go there and do an inspection, make an analysis, because this or that phenomenon is taking place in our courts or prosecution offices. After doing this thematic inspection, you come up with some results, which means, change the law if it needs to be changed. After all, it is an unclear law, for example, change a certain practice because it needs a unifying decision by the Supreme Court, or it may be the case when these findings lead to disciplinary proceedings of judges, which may be a second case.
Journalist Mustafa Nano: Do you use thematic inspection? Are you waiting for the reform to end or meanwhile you continue? The reform continues and you continue simultaneously?
High Inspector of Justice Artur Metani: Understanding your question, I would like to say that we have started the thematic inspection actually and this is the moment to present to you or to make a comment on what you said about the institution becoming visible after the event in Elbasan. I think it did not become visible after the Elbasan event. The institution was established on February 1st, 2020, i.e. last year. On February 8th, when the Institution had no staff in its office, there was not even an office, and I mention these not to point out the difficulties but to introduce you to the situation in which the institution was at that time. On February 8th I raised a problem for thematic inspection, which is the early releases on parole of convicts, which was a worrying phenomenon in that period. I raised this concern at first, of course, the Ministry of Justice had raised these concerns by referring them to the High Judicial Council a few months or years ago, but the moment I took office, I set it as a priority of the High Inspector of Justice work. And because of this, today there are three dismissed magistrates only as a result of these thematic inspection findings; two judges and a prosecutor. This means that we are not waiting for the end of the justice reform to start the thematic inspections, to answer your question, but we have started with the thematic inspections, as well as with complaints handling. Out of about 3700 complaints today, the small group of inspectors, because we have a lack of human resources and this is an issue that needs to be addressed actually, has handled about 1100 complaints so far. Everything is transparent on the High Inspector of Justice website: the number of incoming complaints, number of verified complaints, number of investigated complaints and the number of archived complaints, which means colossal work, done by the institution. It was created, let me say because I think it is very important for people to see that the institution has been working all this year, despite having human resources limited to a minimum. We have drafted the institutional strategy of our Institution for the years to come, the regulatory acts of the work of the inspectors and the institution work because the institution is also an administrative block, not only inspection. So, it is an institution with an institutional nature like any public body; financial duties, institution ethics and so on. All recruitment processes have been established and done according to the standards and there is no complaint about the High Inspector of Justice recruitment processes, from the specialists to the inspectors. And all of this has been done in a few months, including the pandemic and its restrictions.
Journalist Mustafa Nano: Well, the question seemed a bit malicious but it is not my fault, it is due to the lack of information that I had. It was not a malicious question. I do not have any kind… In this studio, I highly respect my guests, so that they can be dissatisfied with themselves but not with me. I always try to do this. Now to get back to this event, because this event, you may not agree, but anyway, this was so important that the public opinion was wrapped up in it for a few days and as a result, they gave importance to actions or countermeasures of other institutions, such as in your case the High Inspector of Justice. You were among the first to express yourself in public.
High Inspector of Justice Artur Metani: I do not express myself, I act; and I acted since Monday at 9 or 10 say in the morning, when we started investigating the case…
Journalist Mustafa Nano: Wasn’t it too fast? It’s not malicious, no…
High Inspector of Justice Artur Metani: It was not too fast because it was a complex situation, in the sense that the public deserved a reaction from the institutions that have this obligation. So if the High Inspector of Justice did not react, who would? This was to protect both the public interest and the judge if the judge turned out to be innocent in that situation. Therefore the public deserved a quick reaction, and to make it quick you need to investigate and not comment on it in the press, especially by the institution I represent or by me.
Journalist Mustafa Nano: Did anything else come out later that makes your decision, let’s say, “premature”? Did facts come out after that or not?
High Inspector of Justice Artur Metani: No, I am sure about it… We conducted a full investigation, for two days, i.e. on Monday and Tuesday, and it was sent to the Council within three days, as provided by law, that in case the suspension of the magistrate is requested, for reasons the High Inspector of Justice has, you must complete the investigation within three days. The investigation was complete and for this reason, the Council did not find any shortcomings, say in the investigation conducted by the High Inspector of Justice for this part of the process, I am talking about the suspension, and therefore it voted unanimously for the suspension of the magistrate from duty.
Journalist Mustafa Nano: Do you think today that she should be dismissed? Or it is not your duty to express yourself about such things?
High Inspector of Justice Artur Metani: I… it has been made public. The position of the High Inspector of Justice because I have requested the High Judicial Council, to which I stand, or I have proposed the dismissal and I stand by the dismissal because I think that the violation committed by the magistrate is of such level that it can’t deserve another measure.
Journalist Mustafa Nano: Yes… I, Mr. Metani, had a monologue of mine here…
High Inspector of Justice Artur Metani: Yes…
Journalist Mustafa Nano: Of course, my monologue, my questions, as well as my attitudes in the studio, are based on my knowledge that in this area is discrete, it does not compare to the knowledge you have about the process, it does not compare to the competence and expertise you have, because you have all this experience in addition to your academic experience, academic training, but I do not know… I am making my position clear and then you can refute my claim and I have no choice but to say: Yes, I surrender. My position has been: We are publicly judging and crucifying this lady and we are asking her to publicly give an account for things that strictly pertain to her private life. I did not like those scenes either, they were… they created the idea that you were not in front of a judge but you were in front of a person, a girl, a spoilt vain woman who was manically focused, and this is not the portrait of a judge that I have in mind, that many people have in mind. However, the fact that she is being punished, not because of poor performance at work, not because of the moral figure at work, but she is being punished for things she has manifested in her private life, that we rightly do not like, I’m saying rightly too. But, they are private.
High Inspector of Justice Artur Metani: Firstly, they are not private because they were conducted in a public building, which means in the office where she was working as a judge and as a court deputy president. Secondly, I cannot say that you are wrong, but without a doubt, I am absolutely right. By this I mean, that this is a matter of perspective, probably because it is not mathematics. But, in my view, the judge should not only give justice through his decisions, but he should also convey trust to the party, to the citizen. He must inspire trust in the citizen he renders the decision. So imagine yourself not doing this monologue, but tomorrow you would be in the courtroom, with a magistrate who is not serious and deprives you of a right that you think belongs to you. I am convinced that you would automatically think that this judge is not serious in his decision-making or his legal arguments because you would automatically think of the public official misconduct, imagine a judge. A judge is a public official, but I think it has an even greater weight than any other public official because he is a person who guarantees your rights or deprives you of that, rightly or wrongly. And for that, he must guarantee justice, not just in what he articulates or writes, but also when he looks, even when he behaves or makes gestures.
Journalist Mustafa Nano: You know what I think? Each of us, whether man or woman, in private can do some things that if the public were to find out, we would be criticized. Because we all have those, let’s say, our whims in private life and we have our gestures, we have our impudence, but we have them in private life. In a word, you have no dilemma about this?
High Inspector of Justice Artur Metani: There is no dilemma because: first, it is not in private life and second, things have been made public. So, it is not that we went there, searched her home, or looked through the magistrate’s cell phone and found private videos with her friends or family and made them public. The fact was made public and that’s when the perspectives emerge, to which I still stand and this is a conviction that comes not from this case, but a personal conviction about the public official conduct. The public official must demonstrate seriousness at all times, so that when other citizens see him, he must show the seriousness of the position he holds, of the work he performs and of the competencies he has because I emphasize once again that with the decisions a judge or a prosecutor takes the life or property of a citizen, rightly or wrongly. For this reason, you have to be very strict in your conduct, you have to restrain yourself and you have to give up on a lot of things that others can do freely, even though they may be within the private sphere. This is crucial for the impact that your decision-making has on the citizens.
Journalist Mustafa Nano: Last time a lady named Vjollca Meçe was here with me in this studio, you probably know her…
High Inspector of Justice Artur Metani: Of course
Journalist Mustafa Nano: Let’s say, one of the justice personalities, who is retired now, and she had the same attitude as you. And I conclude that the optics of a man who is inside the system is a little sharper than the optics of ordinary people like me.
High Inspector of Justice Artur Metani: Because… Allow me, because without a doubt there is nothing malicious in what I am saying but you will finish your show and your way of thinking and you will continue your life normally. However, tomorrow citizens will go to court or the prosecutor’s office, and they will face these people. And I’m not interested in the debate we are having together. I am interested in the opinion of the citizens when they will lose or win a case tomorrow with this prosecutor or with this judge, and if, in my opinion, the trust of these people who have trials tomorrow has been violated…
Journalist Mustafa Nano: Yes. In such a circumstance, I have the impression that media pressure is also included in this equation because there has been a lot of noise in the media. Does this kind of pressure or this kind of echo affect the decision you make? Or are you trying to distance yourself? Is it easy?
High Inspector of Justice Artur Metani: No, it is not easy, because, like everyone else, I am a human being living in this society. We have our character or dignity and our formation, which also comes from this society. Of course, I am very interested in what is written in the media, because I want to see the perception of certain decisions or certain issues being addressed. I try not to fall victim to pressure, for better or for worse. For example the first day I noticed that there was a lot of pressure to move forward, to take action. Later there was less pressure for many reasons. But, I take no notice of it. I make sure that my decision-making is not influenced by articles written in newspapers with all due respect or by the opinion that people express. But when it comes to the law when it comes to that which I have also received the votes of the people for, and when I say people it is not just MPs, but also people who these MPs represent, or even friends, and so on. I negotiate my conviction based on law with nothing, with no article or public statement.
Journalist Mustafa Nano: If you are going to evaluate the accuracy of your decision compared to the extent of the public support, here you do not have to have a dilemma because most of the public opinion supports you. This is also for the fact that the Albanian public opinion, because of its conservative tastes and formation, does not like playful women. So…
High Inspector of Justice Artur Metani: I think this thing has another dimension. One of the most frequently asked questions is how successful the new justice institutions will be and when we will see this success. I think that the success of the reforms and new justice institutions does not depend on the work of Artur Metani, or the work of the SPAK prosecutors, or colleagues working in the High Judicial Council and the High Prosecutorial Council. Justice is a lively, dynamic concept nurtured by all of us within the sphere and the obligations we have as citizens. Undoubtedly, most of it belongs to Artur, Arben Kraja of Spaku and so on with all the officials who work everywhere but it also belongs to us, citizens, including me, we have our obligations when we educate our children: do not cheat as it is wrong, do not park illegally, your dad will not ask your teacher to give high undeserved grades, your dad will not pay money for your school. It all amplifies, and then we come to the part where we ask for justice, for something we have not done ourselves since we were young children. So I mean we all need to help justice develop. It is not something that depends simply on the work of the institution but on all of us. Even on journalists, I think. “It is a concept that needs blood, food and love.
Journalist Mustafa Nano: Do you think that the reform has started to bear fruit?
High Inspector of Justice Artur Metani: The reform has started to work. For example, the mechanism of judges, of inspecting judges has started to work. Today, five or six judges have appeared before the Councils, the Prosecutorial and the Judicial Council, I do not remember the magistrates now. That is, the mechanism has started to work. I do not expect the effects of these miracles, because this is normal work that institutions do, but the effects of these procedures will be seen neither today nor tomorrow. It is a long-term process because the effect of a good decision-making process is also a matter of philosophy, the mentality that…
Journalist Mustafa Nano: Public opinion is feeling kind of relieved including me personally and my colleagues, for the fact that the most important institutions that until recently did not exist, the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, have been established and that scary emptiness, that it was really scary, that scary emptiness no longer exists.
High Inspector of Justice Artur Metani: Yes, it no longer exists. But, without a doubt, the reform cannot be carried out only with the new institutions. New legal concepts are also being created.
Journalist Mustafa Nano: Which means?
High Inspector of Justice Artur Metani: Which means new laws, new ways of exercising these powers. Undoubtedly, these need to be practiced, to be tested. Because it means that it is a process that did not end with the approval of the reform, the establishment of institutions and now we will see the effects next year. This is a process. Justice is a dynamic process.
Journalist Mustafa Nano: The last thing, if you had it in your hands, it depended only on you, and you could make any changes now to the justice reform, to the big corpus of laws, what would you do?
High Inspector of Justice Artur Metani: I have my opinions, but I refuse and hesitate to say them because I still stand by them and I am systematic in my convictions. I think we need to see the progress for some time, for some years of a certain practice, of a certain provision, of a certain competence. It’s too early to say that this works and this does not work.
Journalist Mustafa Nano: It was a great pleasure to have you here.
High Inspector of Justice Artur Metani: Thank you. It was a pleasure for me too.
Journalist Mustafa Nano (to the public): This was the conversation I had with High Inspector of Justice Artur Metani, a conversation for which I repeat once again the pleasure I had. I followed him from afar, from a distance and this is the first time we have met, not only in this TV studio but also the first meeting in person and it left me the impression that I already had. A very good impression. I wish him a lot of success.
High Inspector of Justice Artur Metani: Thank you very much.
Click on the video to watch the full interview.