BIRN: SP unilaterally approves legal changes

2023-12-19 17:13:00, Politikë CNA

BIRN: SP unilaterally approves legal changes

The Deputy Speaker of the Parliament, Ermonela Felaj and the Minister of State for Relations with the Parliament, Elisa Spiropali voting during a session

The socialist deputies in the parliamentary commission of laws approved on Tuesday the legal changes for the functioning of investigative commissions according to the proposals of colleague Ermonela Felaj, filed only 12 days ago in the Assembly.

Two bills proposed by opposition MPs Jorida Tabaku and Edmond Spaho filed in April 2022 were also included in the agenda for review, but the initiators did not appear at the online meeting.

During the discussions, SP MPs argued that the changes disciplined the work and practice of the functioning of these commissions and as a necessity of the interpretations that the Constitutional Court had made to the law dating back to 2002 during its decision-making.

"These changes discipline as behavior those that become a mandatory norm" - said the chairman of the Commission Clotilda Bushka, rapporteur of the draft law, adding that "the rules established in the law will create the consolidation of a good practice in this parliamentary activity".

The changes provide aims to limit the rights of the opposition for the establishment, the object and the way of development of parliamentary investigative commissions and to close the doors of these commissions to the public through evasive interpretations for the protection of personal data of witnesses, the protection of commercial secrets, state or when publicity may lead to the dissemination of secret data.

The initiator of the law said that the law of the German Bundestag and the code of criminal procedure were taken as a model for meetings with closed doors.

Likewise, priority is given in decision-making to the role of the political majority, in the role of the secretary and majority decisions of the members, but according to the initiator Felaj, these changes have removed the blocking mechanisms of work in the commissions.

Pandeli Majko asked his colleagues to have a communication and consensus with the opposition by evaluating Tabak's proposals and considered the investigative commission for incinerators "as one of the most serious commissions and as a model to be considered".

Also, Felaj said that those proposals of Tabak's draft that reflect the decisions of the Constitutional Court will be taken into consideration, calling them similar to its proposals.

But the socialists did not accept Tabak's proposal for the composition with an equal number of members between the majority opposition and the structure with two secretaries, continuing to keep the majority and the secretary of the commission, who is given a key role in the obligation to countersign documents for evidence and witnesses .

After the meeting, Tabaku described the changes made by the SP as instruments of the majority to control these commissions.

"This law has clearly caused problems for the majority because by implementing it as it was brought to justice the minister"- she told the media, referring to the last commission of inquiry for the incinerators led by Tabaku.

According to her, the socialists did not change the law to reflect the decisions of the Constitutional Court, but "changed it to make it an instrument that whenever the government wants to obstruct an investigative commission as it has done until today".

Since the sensational commission on the incinerator affair, the majority has rejected every other request of the opposition, denying the constitutional right to control the government, claiming that the law in force needs adjustments.

The rejection of the demands for parliamentary investigative commissions has pushed the opposition led by former Prime Minister Sali Berisha to radicalize its position in the Assembly by trying to block parliamentary activity./ BIRN