The Albanian government has approved a new judicial map that entails sweeping changes to the country’s number of courts, despite criticism from judges and attorneys.
Minister of Justice Ulsi Manja made the announcement on Thursday (21 July), unveiling also a timeline for the changes.
By Ferbuary 2023, the country’s six appeals courts will all be merged into one institution based in Tirana. Starting on 1 May 2023, the number of first instance courts will go down to 12 from the current 29. There also will be only two administrative courts (in Lushnja and Tirana respectively), down from the current six, to be implemented by July 2023.
“The new judicial map has several innovations, it will standardize the average time it will take for decisions to be rendered. It will reduce the costs of providing justice”, Manja said.
The draft law will now be transferred to the Albanian Parliament for its approval.
In the past, the Albanian Ministry of Justice has claimed that the proposal seeks to address the backlog in Albanian courts caused by the absence of active judges. Half of the judges and prosecutors who have gone through judicial vetting have been dismissed, causing significant vacancies and delays.
Over the past weeks, lawyers across the country have staged various boycotts and protests against the decision, arguing that it will cause further delays and it will make it hard for Albanian citizens to have access to justice.
