The clash over amendments to the law on the status of judges and prosecutors shifted to the Laws Committee, where the opposition requested a public hearing with institutions of the justice system. The request was accepted by committee chair Ulsi Manja, while the time of the session was moved forward to 13:00.
The opposition requested a hearing on the draft law
The Democratic Party requested that a public hearing be held on the draft law “On some additions and amendments to Law No. 96/2016 ‘On the status of judges and prosecutors in the Republic of Albania’, as amended.”
According to the opposition’s request, the committee should call the institutions and interest groups directly affected by the proposed changes to present their positions.
Which institutions were requested to be called
The Democrats requested that the High Judicial Council, the High Prosecutorial Council, the Union of Judges of Albania, the National Association of Judges of Albania and the Association of Prosecutors of the Republic of Albania be heard at the session.
The list requested by the opposition also includes the head of the Special Prosecution Office, the Prosecutor General and the chair of the Supreme Court. The request was put forward in the committee by MP Oerd Bylykbashi.
Bylykbashi raises doubts about the legislative process
In his argument, Bylykbashi questioned the way the review of the draft law is proceeding in Parliament. According to him, as the responsible committee, the Laws Committee should also wait for the positions of the other committees.
The Democratic MP said that one of the Constitutional Court’s main remarks had been the lack of consultation with interest groups and claimed that the same problem is now being repeated. He added that the positions and decisions of the High Judicial Council and the High Prosecutorial Council came, according to him, under the conditions of a constitutional crisis linked to Parliament’s failure to respect Constitutional Court decisions.
Bylykbashi also stated that one-third of the committee’s members had submitted a request for the hearing to be held within the day, so that decision-making would not take place without the involved institutions being heard.
Manja: written opinions do not replace hearings
For his part, Ulsi Manja said that written opinions had been received on the draft law from the High Prosecutorial Council, the High Judicial Council and the respective associations, but acknowledged that these do not replace a hearing session.
According to the version presented by him, the draft law was put out for public consultation on Parliament’s website and underwent the consultation procedure. Manja added that the new rules of procedure leave no room for debate over whether the hearing session should be held, accepting the request submitted by the opposition.
The session time was changed
After discussions in the committee, the request for a hearing session was approved and the time was moved from 15:00 to 13:00.
Meanwhile, the committee decided to continue with the presentation in principle of the draft law, while in parallel the requested institutions would be notified to participate in the hearing.
The debate in the Laws Committee once again highlighted the tension between the majority and the opposition over the way amendments affecting the justice system are passed.
Although the request for a hearing was accepted, the political clash remains centered on the substance of the process: whether the consultation was real or merely a procedural formality.