The Reform of Justice in Albania

Abstract

The justice reform in Albania has been one of the country’s major steps to tackle corruption in all levels, to strengthen the integrity of the public administration, to support the independence and/or functional autonomy of law enforcing and independent institutions, to promote a more effective and efficient institutional cooperation and coordination, to promote public trust in juridical system and to accelerate the process of integration in the European Union. This study, through a qualitative methodology, aims at analyzing the main steps conducted by Albanian governments in initiating and adapting the justice reform, the role of EU in this process, the current progress achieved till the EU accession negotiations as well as further recommendations in the road towards EU membership. In the case of Albania, the acceleration of reforms in the judicial system among other reforms was a strong reason that the European Commission opened the accession negotiations with Albania in 25 March 2020. Based on this fact, the study enriches the juridical research in Albania and beyond.