The High Inspector of Justice, Mr. Artur Metani, participated in the first joint meeting of the High Judicial Council and the High Prosecutorial Council with a focus on thematic inspections. This initiative of the High Prosecutorial Council was supported by the EU4Justice project.
In his welcoming speech, Mr. Metani said that the justice system in Albania is not only facing the challenge of its re-establishment and reorganization, after a deep reform, but must also maintain a fair balance between the problems and difficulties it experiences, as well as the public’s trust or demands for a quality, efficient, fast and integrity-based justice system. And for this, Mr. Metani noted, a new approach is needed, through orientation to the quality and performance of the judicial system. “Today, I think that the time has come for all of us to direct the goals, as well as the activity of our institutions, from the model of inspection bodies focused on the individual evaluation of judges and prosecutors towards the evaluation of the quality and performance of the judicial system as a whole, through a model based on the inspection of courts and prosecutors.”
Focusing on the thematic inspections carried out by HIJ, Mr. Metani underlined that their aim has been to ascertain the problems in the justice system and recommend solutions, recommendations, that have served to improve the functionality of courts and prosecution offices in the service of delivering justice to the public.
On the other hand, the High Inspector of Justice emphasized the interaction and coordination between justice institutions, as a necessary element, not only in presenting proposals for conducting thematic inspections, but also in the areas with an impact on the activity of magistrates.
Welcoming speeches at the beginning of the meeting were delivered by the Chairwoman of the High Prosecutorial Council, Ms. Mirela Bogdani, the Chairman of the High Judicial Council, Mr. Ilir Rusi, and the Prosecutor General, Olsian Çela.
The chairman of the Permanent Disciplinary Commission of the HPC, Mr. Zeqir Hoda, and on behalf of the Permanent Disciplinary Commission of the HJC, Ms. Emona Muci, spoke about the perspective of the Councils, their role, involvement, and cooperation on thematic inspections.
The High Inspector of Justice, Mr. Metani, made a presentation on “The Current Situation of Thematic Inspections – Historical Summary, State of Inter-Institutional Cooperation, Main Findings, and Recommendations.”
The meeting concluded with discussions and proposals on improving institutional coordination and cooperation for thematic inspections.
The full welcoming speech of the High Inspector of Justice:
Dear Ms. Bogdani,
Dear Mr. Rusi,
Dear Mr. Çela,
Dear members of the Councils,
Dear participants.
Thank you for the invitation and the opportunity to participate in this activity!
Personally, I greatly appreciate its organization, as the development of this meeting is a clear indicator of the due attention that our institutions are devoting to the process of developing thematic or institutional inspections of the judicial power bodies.
Listening to the words of my colleagues at this moment, the expression of a colleague of mine, an expert at the Council of Europe (Delbos) who has assisted the HIJ Office in several working processes on the development of thematic or institutional inspections came to mind: “Today we live in a strange paradox: never has the demand for justice been so strong and never have the justice systems been in such a fragile state”.
This dilemma of many other countries is now also found its place in Albania. This is due to the fact that, today, the justice system in Albania is not only facing the challenge of its re-establishment and reorganization, after a deep reform, but also must maintain a fair balance between the problems and difficulties it experiences, as well as the public’s trust or demands for a qualitative, efficient, fast and integrity-based justice.
Without wanting to underestimate the accountability system of magistrates, which is an important and necessary mechanism in a state of law, today I think that the time has come for all of us to direct the goals, as well as the activity of our institutions, from the model of inspection bodies focused on the individual evaluation of judges and prosecutors (magistrate-based inspections) towards the evaluation of the quality and performance of the judicial system as a whole, through a model based on the inspection of courts and prosecutors (institution-based inspections).
The need for this new approach is important for two reasons: First, the provision of justice is a public service with a profound impact on a society, but in many cases not in the proper quality or efficiency, not fulfilling its function or purpose. At the same time, its dysfunction has also affected the activity and performance of magistrates, who often face workloads and working conditions, which have not only affected their professional ability, communication skills, professional care, efficiency or integrity, but also the quality of justice provided.
In the spirit of this approach, the Office of the High Inspector of Justice has assessed thematic and institutional inspections as an essential function of this institution with a direct impact on increasing the transparency and effectiveness of the justice system, responding to the public’s needs for an independent, efficient and impartial justice system.
The primary goal of the thematic inspections, completed and in progress, has not been to identify failures in the system or to ascertain concrete disciplinary violations by magistrates or to initiate disciplinary proceedings, as the HIJ primarily assesses that a number of issues may require a clear address and careful solution, in a systemic aspect, and cannot be addressed solely by the HIJ Office, within the framework of disciplinary proceedings, as is constantly claimed, on the role and functions of the institution of the High Inspector of Justice.
On the contrary, the thematic inspections carried out have had as their main focus the ascertainment of issues in the justice system and the recommendation of solutions, which are expected to serve to improve the work of prosecution offices and courts. The recommendations issued at the end of these inspections have served to improve the functionality of courts and prosecution offices in the service of delivering justice to the public.
Dear colleagues,
At a time when public expectations are high and challenges are growing, our common task is to build a culture of fair and objective assessment of the functioning of the judiciary, as well as the work of magistrates. In this regard, it is worth emphasizing that thematic or institutional inspections are one of the most effective mechanisms to make this objective a reality.
This is a complex process and cannot be the sole object of the HIJ Office activity. Interaction and coordination between the institutions of the governance of the justice system in identifying issues that affect the justice system and that should be subject to inspection is essential. In this regard, interaction and coordination between our institutions is necessary not only in presenting proposals for conducting thematic inspections, but also in areas with an impact on the activity of magistrates.
First of all, this process requires, a clear strategic vision of all our institutions on the importance of developing thematic or institutional inspections. It requires a proper implementation and enforcement plan, or a strict monitoring and implementation process of recommendations.
In this context, I appreciate today’s activity and believe that this will be only the beginning of a long process of cooperation in this direction, with the aim of engaging all our institutions in building a justice system that serves our citizens and society in a dignified manner.
Thank you !
