The High Prosecutorial Council (KLP) has determined the criteria for candidates for the National Investigation Bureau (BKH). The BKH will be an independent section of the Judicial Police operating under the sole authority of the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecution (SPAK). The establishment of the BKH is an attempt to create a police force in Albania independent from the influence of the government.
Like the prosecutors of SPAK, BKH officers will waive parts of the their privacy, and will have their communications and financial accounts monitored.
The KLP has announced an initial vacancy of 6o BKH investigators. The application process will start as soon as the SPAK has been established. Candidates for the BKH will have to complete cognitive, logical, and physical tests, a background assessment, as well as an interview.
From the 60 BKH candidates, a BKH director will be chosen by the KLP on the basis of a proposition of the Chief Special Prosecutor and the two most senior SPAK prosecutors.
Although in the statement the KLP claims the SPAK will be established “very soon,” only a part of the 15 selected candidates has received a final verdict by the vetting commissions. According to the Constitution, SPAK can only be established with a minimum of 10 Special Prosecutors. Recently, KLP Chair Gent Ibrahimi suggested that SPAK could start with 7–8 Special Prosecutors instead.
