Fatmir Tartale, Gerti Tartale Historical development of the оrganization of the criminal justice system in Albania and its European integration

Аннотация: The study and analysis of the legal system in Albania in its entirety and in particular the criminal one is important firstly for the citizens of this country, in the fight against crime in general and against organized crime in particular, to protect them and guarantee the right to a better and more peaceful life. Secondly, it is beneficial in terms of doctrine but also practice, being the backbone of democracy and the rule of law. In the context of its historical development, during these hundred years in Albania there have been judicial institutions that responded to different developments, according to state formations, from antiquity up to the fourth century in Illyria, to the present, when we were free or occupied by different invaders in years, foreign and Albanian legislations have been implemented. Starting with the Albanian customary law like the Kanun of Lek Dukagjin, that of Laberia, of Skanderbeg, of the Mountains, followed by the Sharia Law, the Ottoman Criminal Code, the Ottoman Criminal Procedure Code, which adopted the model of the Napoleonic Code of 1808, the Kanun of the Elderly of 1913, the Prince Vid Act on Judicial Organization of 1914, the King Zog Criminal Code, laws on the functioning of the criminal legal system, etc. Based on these acts of the Albanian customary law, on the Albanian and foreign legislation, the functions of the powers of courts were assigned, as well as their composition, establishing the criteria to be a judge, as well as the implementation of a criminal proceeding, judgment, decision and its execution, voluntary or forced, as rendered by the court. Even during the war, until 1944, the legal system of justice operated in pursuance of the legislation of the invading countries or the Albanian legislation in force at the time. From 1944 to 1990, the legal system of criminal justice functioned referring to the post-war laws, the Criminal Code, the Criminal Procedure Code, the Civil Code and the Civil Procedure Code in force for several years, even with the amendments that have been subsequently made. Upon the amendments made to these basic laws and infrastructure stemming from their implementation, the rights of litigants were increasingly restricted, attaching priority to the executive and those who raised charges to the court, removing protection and trying the defendants, without a defense counsel, disadvantaging and unbalancing him, in relation to the prosecuting party, the prosecutor, who was in the service of the state of the proletariat dictatorship. From 1990 to 2012, with the advent of the democratic system in Albania and the victory of the democratic forces, the legal system of criminal justice has been reformed. It continues to be reformed, while respecting the principles of the functioning of a democratic state, like the separation of powers, judicial independence and the right to a fair trial. This reform is carried out consistently, through the development and adoption of the Constitution of the Republic of Albania and different codes, like the Criminal Code, the Criminal Procedure Code, the Civil Code, the Civil Procedure Code, the Law on the Prosecutor’s Office, the Judicial Police, for execution of court decisions, etc.. These laws are in line with the EU democratic countries’ laws, and beyond, which like the European countries’ laws are implemented to develop a due legal process, by equality of arms, precisely reflecting the European Convention of Human Rights «.1)

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Abstract: As the authors point out, the study and analysis of the legal system in Albania in its entirety and in particular the criminal one is important in the fight against crime in general and against organized crime in particular, to protect the people and guarantee them the right to a better and more peaceful life. It is beneficial in terms of doctrine but also practice, being the backbone of democracy and the rule of law. In the context of its historical development, during these hundred years in Albania there have been judicial institutions that responded to different developments, according to state formations, from antiquity up to the fourth century in Illyria, to the present, when foreign and Albanian legislations have been implemented. The article concerns organization of system of criminal justice in Albania since 1912 to the current time, as well as the changes towards the European integration and the judicial reforms.

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