Having met with counterparts from the European Inspectorate of Justice, Chief Inspector of the Judicial Inspection of Romania, Judge Lucian Netejoru, Magistrate Inspector Luis Jardim from Inspectorate of Justice at the Judicial High Council of Portugal and Magistrate Inspector Martine Bardet from the General Inspectorate of Justice in France, High Inspector of Justice Artur Metani answered the questions of journalist Anila Hoxha, Top Channel, questions which were also about the nature of citizens’ complaints to HIJ.
“The most numerous complaints filed are the ones regarding the length of court proceedings, injustices that citizens think have been done by courts, judges or even prosecutors in assessing the judgments in their cases, civil or criminal ones “, said Mr. Metani. He also added that “We will focus on responding in the shortest time possible to all citizens’ complaints, but it certainly depends on our human resources as well.”
Asked about the biggest challenge the High Inspector of Justice is currently facing in his work, Mr. Metani underlined that the HIJ work itself aims at guaranteeing magistrates’ independence as a guarantee for the citizens’ rights.
“I think that challenges in terms of human resources, legal infrastructure and so on are things that will find solutions at one point or another. What is important for the High Inspector of Justice and for the citizens in general is to set the best standards related to the balance I referred to at the beginning. Finding a balance between the public interest in the administration of justice and the independence of judges, which is not only independence that belongs to judges but also a right that belongs to citizens. The more independent the judge is, the more guaranteed the citizen’s rights are. And this is what we must achieve”, said Mr. Metani.
Chief Inspector of the Judicial Inspection of Romania, Judge Lucian Netejoru also answered the questions of the journalist Anila Hoxha.
Transcript of the interview:
Anila Hoxha, Top Channel: I would like to address the gentleman from Romania since they have the total independence and the model that they are offering to Albania in this training.
Chief Inspector of the Judicial Inspection of Romania Lucian Netejoru: Hello, it is a pleasure to meet you in Albania. I am very happy to have been invited here by our Albanian colleagues and of course with the support of the Council of Europe.
Anila Hoxha, Top Channel: You are a strong institution in your country and of course totally independent, which has led to having higher results in controlling the system. What advice would you give to Albania, now that you have brought inspectors who will train their Albanian colleagues?
Chief Inspector of the Judicial Inspection of Romania Lucian Netejoru: Romania’s Judicial Inspection is an independent body. What I mean is an institution like the Supreme Court, the School of Magistrates and the Romanian Parliament. Our experience is not long either, -only since 2012-, but we became completely independent after some organizational changes in 2018. However, we are really independent in terms of disciplinary investigations, verifications and inspections related to thematic and general ones. We are committed to sharing all our experience with the Albanian colleagues so that they can improve their work and strengthen their capacities, administrative capacities, because their work is in its infancy and in our view it is necessary they learn to be independent. I am very confident that Albanian colleagues will learn what it means to be independent and will have the benefits of being independent. Firstly for the judicial system itself and then for the citizens. Although our target is the justice system, public trust is also important. This is because citizens are the first to claim justice and also the first to suffer the bad behaviour of judges or services in the courts.
Anila Hoxha, Top Channel: Mr. Metani a short question. During the functioning of your institution, practically new, you have achieved, and have a very positive experience, in terms of tracing mishandled cases that remain in prosecutor’s offices or even in the judiciary. However, isn’t it about time inspectors learned to become independent and also we had a review of the legal framework, so that you are totally independent and under the model of your colleague?
High Inspector of Justice Artur Metani: First of all, let me thank my colleagues who have come from Romania, France and Portugal in the framework of a visit organized by the Council of Europe to assist the better functioning of High Inspector of Justice Institution. The High Inspector of Justice Office is a new office and of course the competencies are new, they require a new mentality so that things can become functional and the best models coming from developed democracies are the best way to build this new mentality and apply it in Albania as well. Regarding the further independence of the institutions, I think that we have the constitutional and legal framework which organizes the functioning of the High Inspector of Justice Office. It is still early to discuss such things because we are in the process of consolidating our first practices and at the moment this is our priority, to be also discussed with our colleagues. Let’s see how things go, how this new mentality and this new philosophy is created by finding the right balance between the public interest in the administration of justice and the independence of judges and prosecutors. This is what we aim to achieve and what we will discuss with colleagues today and in the future.
Anila Hoxha, Top Channel: As soon as you took office as the head of HIJ, you noticed and stated that you found almost 900 complaints from Albanian citizens alleging legal violations, both by judges and prosecutors. What did Albanian citizens mainly complain about and what do they still complain about?
High Inspector of Justice Artur Metani: This number has changed. Now there are 4500 complaints on average. We have tried to respond to the interest of the citizens by responding to their complaints. We have handled about 1,500 complaints despite our limited human resources. However, to focus on your question, the most numerous complaints filed are the ones regarding the length of court proceedings, injustices that citizens think have been done by courts, judges or even prosecutors in assessing the judgments in their cases, civil or criminal ones and we will focus on responding in the shortest time possible to all citizens’ complaints, but it certainly depends on our human resources as well.
Anila Hoxha, Top Channel: What is the most difficult part for the High Inspector of Justice at the moment, which you are facing and it is almost a challenge for you?
High Inspector of Justice Artur Metani: I think that challenges in terms of human resources, legal infrastructure and so on are things that will find solutions at one point or another. What is important for the High Inspector of Justice and for the citizens in general is to set the best standards related to the balance I referred to at the beginning. Finding a balance between the public interest in the administration of justice and the independence of judges, which is not only independence that belongs to judges but also a right that belongs to citizens. The more independent the judge is, the more guaranteed the citizen’s rights are. And this is what we must achieve.
