Special Prosecutors against Corruption and Organized Crime have asked the Albanian Parliament to extend their mandates indefinitely.
In their request, they praise their work in the past two years since establishment, and argue that with an unlimited term they would perform even more effectively.
Arguments listed to support this include: other prosecutors have indefinite mandates, the Albanian state and international partners have invested heavily in their training, their performance in the last year of the term would decrease as they would be looking for another job, and finally that it would be difficult to recruit other high-skilled prosecutors.
The constitutional mandate for special prosecutors is 9 years.
Albania’s Special Prosecution against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK) should have 20 prosecutors but it has recruited only 15 so far.
It was established as part of the justice reform in Albania, which has resulted in major flaws that left the country without a Constitutional Court and High Court for a couple of years.
The SPAK has been able to get court approvals for a number of seizures of criminal assets but has yet to conclude any case on high-level officials or politicians.
