Honorable Mrs. Llagami,
Honorable Ambassador Kim,
Honorable Minister Manja,
Dear colleagues and guests,
Thank you for organizing this event Mrs. Llagami and for giving us the chance to get together on a festive day such as the Justice Day.
This is a symbolic day for the justice and the rule of law in Albania. It is a professional pleasure to see that over the decades and the years, the Albanian justice, despite its strong fluctuations due to political, cultural and democratic developments, has produced acts of justice that make us proud today. The history of justice shows us today lawyers and law professionals who, with their legal opinions, have been in the vanguard of political, social and economic developments in the country. That is why today is the day to remember and honor in the first place all those people who, with their outstanding contributions, laid the strong foundations for the rule of law in Albania.
But it is also a day to reflect on justice as one of the most important moral values of a society, on its journey today and tomorrow in Albania, on the relationship that justice has with society and its institutions.
The justice system in our country has gone hand in hand with the social transition and during the three decades of pluralism they have had the same problems. I am sure that going from the end of the transition period to the period of development and European integration of Albania, has marked an important turning point for the Albanian justice.
The justice reform of 2016, created the model of the rule of law that we would like to apply and the new architecture of the justice system.
The new institutions of justice have the historic duty and obligation to keep alive the efforts of those who a century ago drafted and adopted the Kanun of Zhuria.
New justice institutions do not have the opportunity to make mistakes!
New justice institutions do not have time to be quiet!
We are facing a strong test in front of those who have trusted and still believe in us!
On the verge of maximum difficulty, I know!
But, this is the challenge that we chose and there is no turning back!
We are aware that creating the rule of law model is not an easy process. It does not require only time, not only human and financial capacity, it does not require only the efforts of the justice system. Undoubtedly, the basic weight in creating the constitutional and legal boundaries of social relations remains with the justice system. But the role of other political, social and economic factors is of particular importance. A democratic constitutional and legal framework is a very important cornerstone in the well-functioning of the rule of law, yet the values of law are not found only in written laws.
No matter how valuable constitutional guarantees, formal legal rules, and institutional guarantees are, they are not enough if they are not nurtured by the values of a society that believes in and builds a credible, effective, and independent justice system. The provision of formal guarantees is the starting point, but not the end of this process.
Justice has currently been and it still remains one of the hottest topics of public debate in Albania. Discussion of justice-related topics cannot but be part of the public debate. The judiciary is an important part of the state structure and for issues related to their functional duties, magistrates are part of a wide range of criticism. We cannot change this fact because freedom of expression gives everyone the right to express and comment freely on justice decisions. Of course, there are cases when these comments also reflect the defects that our society has. There is no way it can happen otherwise in a developing society, where finding boundaries is not our strong point even though we must all agree that at least bullying justice serves to no one.
However in this context there is a specificity, which I would like to emphasize. There is a significant difference between critics against magistrates and critics against other public officials. Magistrates cannot respond to criticism, they cannot comment on their cases, even refute media or political distortions of their decisions. Unlike political institutions, independent institutions and magistrates have this kind of constraint, which is part of their duty.
Therefore the battle of judges, prosecutors and law officials is with transparency and with increasing their work quality. It is true that, magistrates cannot comment on their decisions, but if their decisions they make, express clearly and unequivocally simply and straightforwardly their legal opinion and their law-based discretion, then the public will be clear about what they feel is a fair or unfair decision. The clearer the judges, prosecutors and law officials’ decisions are and the more aware they are about the role they play, the simpler it is for the public to understand the importance of this decision-making process and what is more to build respect for the work of justice.
But if judges and prosecutors must do their job, building respect for the work of the judiciary is an effort that goes beyond the work of the justice system. It is also the contribution of other factors in the society, especially the political and media ones. Creating a democratic environment of respect for the justice system is neither a matter of law nor a matter of decision-making. Constitutionality, rule of law, respect for other people’s work or for what is called separation of powers are standards that must be nurtured every day with foresight, outside the instant interests, considering in the long-term vision every word said and every stone thrown at the justice system. As a society we must be prepared to accept even decisions that we do not like. Antisystem solutions only prolong the agony of the traumatic difficulties that justice is going through today.
Today, Albania is in front of historic moments of her European journey.
Let’s all try to orient ourselves towards a new accountability approach!
Let us all strive to address our best values!
Let us all try to consolidate the justice system according to the principles and standards towards which we are directed without turning back!
Today and onwards this is the biggest challenge for us all!
Thank you!