The Laws Committee has accepted the Democratic Party’s request to hold a public hearing on changes to the law on the status of judges and prosecutors, a process the opposition described as lacking consultation and problematic in the way it is being pushed through Parliament.
What the opposition requested
The Democratic Party requested that the hearing include institutions and interest groups directly linked to the draft law, including the High Judicial Council, the High Prosecutorial Council, the Union of Judges of Albania, the National Association of Judges of Albania, the Association of Prosecutors of the Republic of Albania, the head of the Special Prosecution Office, the Prosecutor General and the chief justice of the Supreme Court.
The request was presented to the committee by lawmaker Oerd Bylykbashi, who argued that the responsible committee should also hear the positions of the affected institutions before proceeding with decision-making.
Criticism of the legislative process
Bylykbashi raised strong doubts about the way the draft law is being handled, saying that one of the Constitutional Court’s main observations had been the lack of consultation with interest groups and that, in his view, the same problem is being repeated.
According to the opposition, the fact that one-third of the committee’s lawmakers requested a hearing shows that decision-making should not be closed before the High Judicial Council, the High Prosecutorial Council and representatives of the justice system are first heard.
Manja accepted the request and changed the schedule
After the procedural debate, Laws Committee chairman Ulsi Manja approved the request for a hearing and announced that the time would be moved from 3:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Manja said written opinions had been received from the High Prosecutorial Council, the High Judicial Council and the associations, but acknowledged that these do not replace a public hearing. According to his version, the new rules of procedure leave no room for debate over whether the hearing should be held if the request has been made in line with procedure.
Draft law remains under political scrutiny
Meanwhile, the committee said it would continue with the general presentation of the draft law, in parallel with notifying the institutions that will take part in the hearing.
The debate once again highlights the continuing tension over changes affecting the justice system, with the opposition raising questions about the standard of consultation while the majority insists that formal procedures have been respected.
Beyond the approval of the hearing, the core of the debate remains the credibility of the legislative process and whether consultation is truly carried out to influence the law, or only to fulfill a formal obligation.
In an issue that directly affects the status of judges and prosecutors, the way the procedure is built carries as much weight as the content of the changes themselves.