Problems with the judicial map/ The expert raises the alarm: Human rights are being violated

2023-12-06 14:29:00, Aktualitet CNA

Problems with the judicial map/ The expert raises the alarm: Human rights are

Expert Gerti Shella

Expert Gerti Shella, in a statement to the media from the city of Korça, has again raised the issue of the new judicial map, which affected the southeast by merging the Court of Appeal.

According to him, in 2016 a basic civil case was resolved in 147 days, while today, with only one appeals court in Tirana, it will take 7 years for a judicial review. He appeals for a review of the new judicial map, as according to him, citizens are being violated the most important issue of human rights.

"The situation regarding the time of receiving justice has worsened a lot starting from 2016, which coincides with the reform. In the Court of Appeal of Korçë in 2016, a civil case was resolved for 147 days, before it was merged, one party took the decision for 533 days. In the first 6 months (2023) where all the citizens of Kor?are receive justice in the only court of appeal in Tirana, the estimated duration for judicial review is 7 years. So it was better before the start of the judicial reform and better even when the court of Korça was worse and it came to its final merger into a single court of appeal. Our appeal is to reconsider the new judicial map and resources can be found because the only reason is the lack of judges, to find 3-4 judges and to reconsider the decisions made regarding the new judicial map.

The citizens of Korça deserve to have their own court of appeal because of tradition, but first of all for what is a matter of human rights and getting justice within a reasonable time. It turns out that in 2023, 78% of appeal cases went beyond reasonable deadlines. This is fast becoming a human rights violation issue. Getting justice within a reasonable time is provided for by Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Albania was punished in 2021 for the Bara and Kola case due to the dragging of the judicial processes beyond a deadline that is by no means competitive, so there is been 3 years and not 7 years. 7 years until it's your turn for your case to be examined, but it can be with one session, but it can also be with 12 sessions", he said.

There is also a delay in aggregate services such as the notary service, which is making it impossible for the parties to open an inheritance issue, or issues related to the cadastre.

"Delays have increased even in the first instance. Delays have doubled or tripled. We note with regret that the aggregate services, such as the notary, are provoking unreasonable delays, creating the inability of the parties to open the inheritance to complete cases that have an interaction with the court or the cadastre. The situation regarding delays is becoming systemic and we must do our best to limit these obstacles as much as possible", emphasized the expert.

The situation remains alarming for the citizens of Korça, who will have to follow a case in the Tirana Appeal for a very long time, while the costs of the latter have also increased./ CNA