Justice reform, judges are against the draft to merge criminal court
Nga OraNews Përditësimi i fundit 30 Mars 2016, 18:04
Judges of the Court of Serious Crimes cried out against the existing draft of the Justice Reform. During an analysis meeting with the Minister of Justice, they opposed the merging of the Criminal Courts, which is part of the current reform.The Head of the Court of Serious Crimes, Sander Simoni, said, "We do not agree on merging the Court of Serious Crimes. It is unnecessary. Merging the court could influence the issues that are currently being tried. It would be better to increase the powers of the Court. The Court has contributed to the fight against trafficking and organized crime. We have asked the Ad Hoc Commission for Justice Reform to give an opinion on the status of judges of the Serious Crimes". Simoni went on to raise another concern about the lack of prosecutors during the trials. He added that they have addressed this problem to the Prosecutor General previously.The Head of the Appeals Court of Serious Crimes, Fehmi Petku, said that fast trials have been a positive element during 2015, and the Minister of Justice, Ylli Manjani, praised the Court of Serious Crimes for having a history of success."This is the most serious project of the Albanian state. And serious projects require serious contributions, and serious assessment. We will be supportive. I am convinced the High Council of Justice will equally support this project", declared Manjani.The Minister of Justice also mentioned the problems encountered when judging Prosecutors and Judges who are accused of hiding their assets. Minister Manjani declared that the investigations are being stopped by their colleagues.The Minister also expressed concern over cases where the Albanian courts are stopping the investigations of Albanian citizens that have been initiated by European courts.
