Elbasan, May 10, 2023
Hello to everyone,
It is a great pleasure to be here with you today and I would like to cordially thank the organizers, because the National Day of Justice is not only in Tirana, as justice is a topic of interest and should be reflected by the whole society, not only the institutions in Tirana.
The justice reform came as a necessity to address a number of needs and problems faced by the justice system – long procedures, parts of the system that prolonged judicial procedures unnecessarily, problems of professional, ethical and moral integrity of judges and prosecutors, issues of independence, but also of their “corporatism” evidenced in many cases, etc. All these issues were addressed by the justice reform and today the system has a completely new organizational architecture. But in my point of view, this reform has also laid the foundation of a stable and long-term philosophy on how to run the country and lead the society, based on a very important pillar – the separation and balancing of powers. In my opinion, it is important to put emphasis on this, because we can all agree to operate in accordance with this principle, but the question is how to exercise legal powers based exactly on that principle, since there are different opinions and interpretations from citizens, and completely different ones from the specialists.
Based on the principle of separation and balancing of powers, the justice reform needs to convey to the citizens, to the society, the importance of implementing this principle. Not as a way out to avoid responsibilities, but as the only standard that guarantees the future of the justice system independence. I am aware of the citizens rightful expectations, of their frustration of waiting for their court cases which have dragged on for 30 years now. Perhaps even society finds it almost impossible to cope with the situation of the justice system today. But I am convinced that the only way to have an efficient justice system tomorrow is to provide solutions today which are totally detached from the interest of the moment or the politics. The independence of judges and prosecutors is not a principle to protect the violations of law they may commit, or a pretext to avoid their legal responsibility. Not at all! However, if a judge or prosecutor is held accountable today, because the society does not agree with his decision making, or because society does not orientate itself towards institutions which are established by the Constitution and the law specifically to handle complaints against the judicial system, or even worse , because other powers want to take advantage of the legal impossibility of the public reaction of judges and prosecutors, then there is no reform that will succeed, but only a prolonged agony, in our development efforts.
On the other hand, I believe that the principle of the separation of powers cannot succeed, and thus the reform in justice itself cannot succeed, if we do not cultivate justice as a social value, we do not cultivate the separation of powers, as a system that guarantees impartiality and tranquility. Justice cannot be statistics. It should be a standard. Judges and prosecutors are part of this society, which together we are trying to consolidate by setting standards. Therefore, even magistrates will definitely reflect the positive and negative aspects of our society, our character and our problems. Consequently, the reform is not a battle that justice institutions have to fight alone. Undoubtedly, they have the biggest role and responsibility. But it is the moral responsibility of all of us, of other institutions as well, of politics, the media, society in general, to cultivate the sense of right and division of duties in a democratic state. Without pathos, this is what I believe, that each of us in our own space, can do the greatest service to this country.
Thank you!
