The closing ceremony of the European Union's €800,000 project "Support to the General Prosecutor's Office to undertake Inspection and Evaluation of Prosecutors" took place yesterday in Tirana. The project has assisted the General Prosecutor's Office in improving its professional management systems and working practices in order to enhance the efficiency and transparency of prosecutorial functions in Albania.
The project has enabled the General Prosecutor's Office to benefit from the assistance and expertise of Spanish and Italian counterparts to improve the internal functioning of the GPO, the establishment of efficient and transparent systems for the evaluation and inspection of prosecutors, as well the definition of specialised training seminars on professional ethics and techniques of inspection. The project experts maintained a constant and fruitful dialogue with Albanian prosecutors, police, relevant agencies and international partners. An in-depth study of the conditions of the GPO resulted in a proposal to improve the effectiveness of investigative methods, drawing upon the experience both of Albanian institutions in the last few years and EU Member States.
During the closing ceremony, the Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Albania, Ambassador Helmuth Lohan emphasised the significance of a transparent, accountable, efficient and depoliticised judiciary for a functioning democracy and said that "the independence of the judiciary, the independence of the General Prosecutor's Office starts with the mutual understanding between the political world and the judiciary world that justice cannot be political, preferential or discriminatory".
The €800,000 project started in October 2008 and ends in March 2010. It was implemented through a Twinning between the Albanian General Prosecution Office, the Spanish General Prosecutor's Office and the Italian High Council of Judiciary.
As noted in the 2009 Progress Report of the European Commission on Albania, "the justice system continues to function poorly due to shortcomings in independence, transparency and efficiency". The EU has long assisted Albania in addressing several of these shortcomings through improving judicial infrastructure (construction of the Serious Crimes Court in Tirana, the renovations and/or reconstructions of the courts of Saranda, Vlora, Dibra, Korça etc), and through bringing expertise to help with law drafting.
Source: balkans.com/
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