Informative Activity in Vlora: Monitoring Chapters 23 & 24 of Albanian EU accession through lenses of civil society

The European Movement in Albania (EMA) in cooperation with University of Vlora “Ismail Qemali” University of Vlora organised the activity “Monitoring of Chapter 23 (Judiciary and Fundamental Rights) and Chapter 24 (Justice, Freedom and Security) of Albania’s accession process in the EU ” in Vlora on 30 October 2017.

The rule of law guarantee as a fundamental value of the constitutional order is one of the main criteria for Albania’s accession to the European Union. After receiving candidate status in 2014, the country is at an early stage of preparation for accession negotiations. Since this year there will be no report from the European Commission, EMA is undertaking a number of monitoring and information activities in framework of the Rule of Law Program in South East Europe (RLP SEE), with the support of Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS).

Mr. Roland Zisi, Rector of the University of Vlora during his Opening Speech underlined the importance of this activity since the he citizens’ knowledge, civil society organizations, especially at the local level and local NGOs, the media, students are limited in terms of the priorities in relation to Chapter 23 and 24 of Albania’s accession to the EU, the current policy implementation stage and gaps for advancing the legal framework from state institutions.

Mr. Gledis Gjipali, the Executive Director of EMA highlighted that EMA research team will present the current stage and level of policy implementation, legislative gaps, the role and contribution of different institutions and actors to the main priorities addressed in Chapter 23 and 24, considering the developments and the situation in 2017.

The Legal Expert, Mr. Periand Teta, presented the key findings and Monitoring Report Recommendations: “Chapter 23: Reform in Justice” focusing on the main themes of  Independence, impartiality, accountability of the judiciary; Professionalism and competence; The quality of justice and efficiency; War against corruption.

In addition, Mrs. Dorina Ndreka Asllani, coming from the field of academia as Lecturer, of University “Aleksandër Moisiu” in Durrës, addressed the main Monitoring Report Recommendations: “Chapter 24: Judicial Cooperation in Civil Matters in the Process of Albania’s Integration into the European Union” oriented towards i)Understanding judicial cooperation in civil cases in European law; ii)The steps taken by the EU for judicial cooperation in civil matters; iii)The steps taken by Albania in this direction and the competent bodies.

During the Question-Answer Session, there were some comments and interventions provided from Mrs. Holta Ymeri, Editor-in-Chief of the Albanian Legal Journal.  The informative and open discussion approach achieved to improve and enhance the target group knowledge on rule of law issues, the role and the contribution that especially local institutions and Academia actors have in pushing forward the process, the actual progress achieved and help them in having realistic expectations.