PRESENTATION OF THE HIGH INSPECTOR OF JUSTICE TO THE COMMITTEE ON LEGAL AFFAIRS, PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Thank you, Madam Chair

Distinguished Members of Parliament,

I also appreciate the opportunity to appear before you and have the institution evaluated for its good work but also for what has not been done well, obviously. This is also a very good opportunity for me to express the concern that the body of inspectors and I have had during these two years of the HIJ existence, because undoubtedly, we are all aware that these two years have not been easy for us to establish a new institution from scratch, in every aspect, infrastructure, human resources, work standards and so on.

You already have the Report and I would prefer not to tire you out with the description of the report, but I would like to dwell only on the points of the Resolution which was approved by the Assembly last year and on the extent to which the High Inspector of Justice has implemented these recommendations made by the Assembly.

It is about 8 recommendations, half of which have been fulfilled and the other half have been partially implemented and remain in the process of final implementation with the support of the Assembly, as I will present below.

1. Regarding the first recommendation, it has been set up and implemented the internal case management system for the investigative procedure, in cooperation with the Euralius mission. It is a system requested by the HIJ itself, in the framework of Euralius assistance, as we need it for our daily work- facilitating the circulation of documentation procedure and ensuring its data security, according to the respective functions, the division of work, and the documents handling at the HIJ Office. The system is currently being used mainly by the Archive-Protocol, which performs the registration, scanning and updating operations of the written documentation for complaints, as well as by inspectors and assistant inspectors who upload in the system all the documents related to a complaint. In the future, the system will provide facilities for all users and generate reports and statistics. HIJ received this asset from EURALIUS in January 2022 and provided it with the necessary licenses for its use with a validity period until August 2022. In the following days, measures will be taken to make budget requests to the Ministry of Finance in order to further develop the system and renew the relevant licenses in order to ensure the continuity of the system and the fulfillment of its goals. So, this is a recommendation that continues to be implemented.
2. Regarding the backlog, there are 2104 complaints and practices in different stages of their handling procedures, administered by the former HJC. HIJ has set up a database in order to reflect accurate data, related to the number of the complaints handled, their object, the claims presented in these complaints, etc., in order to group them and draft a review order of priority. After the recruitment of 8 inspectors (magistrates and non-magistrates), these complaints were distributed to 4 (four) inspectors so that they could be handled with priority. It is a work in progress that depends first on human capacity, which HIJ is lacking.
3. The cooperation with the Councils and transitional re-evaluation institutions has become part of the HIJ working practice regarding the information or updated lists of incumbent magistrates or when their status with the HJC and the HPC as well as with the IQC expires. The High Inspector of Justice Office in any case has given a high priority to the provision of information to these institutions. So, this recommendation on our part is considered fulfilled.
4. On the other hand, HIJ in cooperation with international partners have established bridges of communication and institutional coordination with both councils, in terms of the disciplinary proceedings process and periodic meetings between us with a view to identifying issues of common interest that are encountered during law enforcement, agreeing and coordinating the implementation of uniform standards, by guaranteeing a regular disciplinary process, respecting the independence of magistrates. This process is intended to continue as a communication platform among the three institutions and we consider it a fulfilled recommendation.
5. In order to simplify and expedite the work of inspectors, the manual of disciplinary investigation has been drafted, a recommendation of the Assembly as well, which aims to support the interpretation and implementation of a new legal framework regarding the disciplinary system for judges and prosecutors in the Republic of Albania. The manual contains the analysis and comments of the provisions, standard forms built based on the clear requirements of the articles of the procedural law for the disciplinary investigation of violations committed by judges and prosecutors and it mainly covers the procedures to be followed during the disciplinary process. Regarding the inspection methodology, so far HIJ, due to the insufficient number of inspectors and the high number of complaints carried out, has started 3 (three) thematic inspections which are in progress, namely: Thematic inspection of courts and prosecutor’s offices attached to them on the treatment of requests related to “Conditional Release”; Thematic inspection on taking administrative and procedural measures in the framework of the implementation of the general instruction on the regulation of relations between prosecutors and heads of the prosecution offices, information, transparency as well as guaranteeing the independence in prosecutors with general jurisdiction, as well as “Thematic inspection on compliance with conditions and criteria for imposing personal security measures ”for the criminal offense of “Illegal possession and production of weapons, explosive weapons and ammunition”. After receiving data from the courts and prosecutor’s offices involved in this thematic inspection and analyzing them during the inspection procedures followed for the thematic inspection on “conditional release”, there were submitted 2 requests for disciplinary proceedings in 2020 and 1 request for disciplinary proceedings during 2021. As for the other two inspections mentioned above, the High Inspector of Justice is in the process of analyzing the data administered for each thematic inspection, the results of which are expected to be released during 2022. The inspection methodology to be followed has also been approved for each thematic inspection. However, I have to say that at this stage of human resource capacity, this measure remains partially implemented, due to the insufficient number of inspectors and the process of handling complaints inherited by the former HCJ, the HJC and the current ones, and also the lack of necessary infrastructure for inspections. Meanwhile, we have not stood by but have focused on capacity building, both for the methodology and the inspection itself, collaborating with international partners, both European and American ones, in order to get the best work practices for a process which is part of their tradition. We are currently doing research on the methodologies of some European countries in order to determine the rules on the manner of implementation and the procedural steps that must be followed in an inspection process. Regarding the regulation of complaints, we are working on building an internal system of documents circulation, taking into consideration even foreign models by counterpart institutions. HIJ has been part of the European Network of Justice Inspection Services (RESIJ), since December 10, 2021, as observer because only EU countries can be members of it, and we have started exchanging work practices with inspection services of European countries. The cooperation with this network started in Tirana, last November when members of this Network paid a working visit to Albania and had intensive trainings with the HIJ team. HIJ is already sharing its experience in international activities organized by the European Network of Justice Inspection Services. A few weeks later, in June, we are hosting an international conference of this Network in Tirana, with the support of the Council of Europe through CEPEJ (European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice).
6. Regarding the recommendation for speeding up the recruitments process and completing the HIJ with the necessary staff, HIJ has taken measures within its capacity, but we need the support of the Albanian Parliament. The High Inspector of Justice continued to work with a single inspector during the first year of his activity, i.e., until February 2021, and has continuously requested to the councils the appointment of the other magistrates. The HJC has made seven announcements for appointing magistrate judges in the position of inspector at the Office of HIJ, but none of them has been successful in meeting the needs of HIJ. While the HPC, after completing the procedures, appointed 4 magistrate prosecutors for a period of 5 years. With its own announcement, the HIJ has recruited 4 non-magistrate inspectors, and at the moment we have a total of 8 inspectors out of 26 provided by law. On September 30, 2021, the High Inspector of Justice announced the call for 9 (nine) vacant positions for non-magistrate inspectors at the inspectors’ unit. Selection procedures are underway for 19 candidates who have expressed interest. An imperative need for the High Inspector of Justice remains the completion of the Inspectors unit with magistrate Inspectors, especially the judicial profile, and for these we need legal interventions which I will mention again in the end.
7. Regarding the drafting and approval of the annual plan of institutional and thematic inspections and its publication on the official website of the institution, the work has started with the request addressed to the HJC, HPC and PG, for the presentation of topics or issues that may be subject to thematic or institutional inspection. The Prosecutor General has proposed 6 cases, which may be subject to inspection and which were discussed in a two-day meeting with international partners, the same as the ongoing work for drafting an annual plan for inspections. In the analysis of human resources opportunities at HIJ and financial opportunities for this year, HIJ has evaluated that it has limited capacity in terms of human resources, institutional experience, but also financial opportunities to address all needs and make a plan. The identified objective impossibilities are conditioned by the high number of forwarded complaints, but also by the high number of complaints currently filed. Now there are about 4600 complaints administered by HIJ. SENIOR JUSTICE INSPECTOR INFORMS THE LAW COMMITTEE ON THE WORK OF THE INSTITUTION FOR 2021 Evaluating all factors with impact on the implementation of inspections, we have concluded that the appropriate tool for addressing the issues presented by the Prosecutor General is to conduct thematic inspection on taking administrative and procedural measures in the framework of the implementation of the General Instruction of the Prosecutor General “On the regulation of relations between prosecutors and heads of the prosecution offices, information, transparency and guarantee of independence in the prosecutions with general jurisdiction”. HIJ has already approached and is now cooperating with international partners, who will assist through their best practices in designing an annual inspection plan related to inspections set out in the justice reform laws, but also from the experience gained so far in handling complaints, evaluating it in relation to the methodology followed by European counterparts. Specifically, the High Inspector of Justice has signed specific memoranda of understanding to strengthen cooperation with counterpart inspectorates in Bulgaria, Romania and Italy. Thus, this is a recommendation in the process of being fulfilled.
8. Promoting and increasing the interaction of the High Inspector of Justice with the citizens is the last recommendation of the Assembly for HIJ in 2022, fully fulfilled. Public relations are seen by the HIJ, not simply as an obligation for transparency, but as a mechanism to build citizens’ trust in the institution and a solid reputation. In view of this vision, the official website, ild.al, has been restructured with a new design, where anyone can easily search for information in real time. The main part of the site is occupied by activities, as an indicator of transparency on the HIJ work, but special attention is paid complainants. Through a special section, “How to receive complaints”, in the most visible part of the page, you will find detailed and simplified information on how to complain with HIJ. This section contains the complaint form template, along with relevant instructions on how to complete it. In order to help the complainants, we have published a series of examples on the decisions taken by the High Inspector of Justice on whether or not to accept complaints. The complaint journey, from the moment it is filed with HIJ, i.e., from the first stage of its review until it ends in decision-making, is illustrated with a graphic map which clearly presents the process for each visitor of the site. The page publishes the figures of the administered complaints and the ones that are daily reviewed by the HIJ, which are updated every Monday so that everyone can understand the pace of work of our institution. This process, as well as the activity of the HIJ, is reflected every month in the institution Newsletter, which also contains statistics produced by the Protocol Complaints Office, as well as the Coordinator for the Right to Information. The Newsletter is published monthly on the website, in Albanian and English. To facilitate the communication with HIJ, in accordance with the right of citizens to information, a telephone number and an official email address is available, the latter can also be used for sending complaints. In addition to the official website, communication with the public is also done through Twitter and YouTube accounts. This is all in the function of transparency because we think that it brings the credibility that we all ask for from the citizens. Two weeks ago, we launched a survey on the official website of the HIJ to collect public opinion on our work and this will definitely help us to continuously improve. The official HIJ website is functional and updated in Albanian and English, in order to provide more access and convenience to foreigner site visitors. Part of communication are also the interviews of the High Inspector of Justice- television interviews for news or TV shows as well as print media interviews. This is done to raise public awareness on the HIJ mission, but also in the context of transparency on the activity of the institution and on issues of public interest. I would like to emphasize that the HIJ office activity in these two years is oriented towards educating the public through the way of handling complaints. Specifically, the formulation of decisions aims not only and simply at analyzing complaints, verifying facts and practices, but often through them, we aim at clarifying, informing and educating complainants about legal provisions, including their interpretation and fair reading.

This is all regarding the Assembly recommendations, but I would like to use this opportunity to bring to attention the ongoing challenge of HIJ to fill vacancies for magistrate inspectors. Filling the vacancies of the Inspectors Unit with magistrate inspectors would significantly help the process of handling complaints, the ones inherited from the former HCJ, as well as complaints directly filed with the HIJ. As I previously mentioned, all the calls of the HJC have resulted in no candidate interested in the position of magistrate inspector at HIJ. In an assessment conducted by us, we noted that the problems that dictate the need for solution range from the long time needed to complete an appointment request from the Councils- 12 months from the current practice in the Councils and 11 months for the recruitment of non-magistrate inspectors in HIJ, to the law requirements for such positions. In order to address the situation, it is required a work coordination with the competent bodies to:

• Revise the criteria that magistrates must meet to be appointed as inspectors at the High Inspector of Justice Office, by reducing years of experience in office;
• Temporary appoint the magistrate who has submitted the request, until the procedures of verification of property and figure are completed, or shorten the deadlines for the requests submission and the preparation of the opinion by the councils;
• Remove the criterion for having an equal number of magistrate and non-magistrate inspectors;
• Equal financial compensation for non-magistrate inspectors.

The High Inspector of Justice has sent the drafts and the relevant accompanying reports for the requested changes, to the Ministry of Justice on 02.12.2020. So far there has been no response from this Ministry to the HIJ proposal for legal changes.

Due to the lack of a response from the Ministry of Justice, the proposals were addressed to the Assembly as draft amendments to law no. 115/2016 “On the governing bodies of the justice system” and law no. 96/2016 “On the status of judges and prosecutors in the Republic of Albania”. While following with interest the progress of the process of reviewing legal proposals according to parliamentary procedures by the responsible committees, we got acquainted with the calendar of activities, according to which the draft laws were decided for review on 06.04.2021. Despite the date set in the committee calendar of activities, from the verification of the information on the Assembly official website for the period from 06.04.2021 until December 2021, it results that no minutes on reviewing the initiative of a former MP for the draft law no. 115/2016, of the responsible committee or the committee for giving an opinion have been published.

Under these circumstances, the need for legal changes, in light of the above arguments, remains a priority for 2022 for the High Inspector of Justice.