Chairperson of the Constitutional Court Bashkim Dedja faced today the Independent Qualification Commission (KPK) as part of the vetting process. The KPK judicial body comprised Valbona Sanxhaktari, Roland Ilia, and Xhensila Pine.
According to the Dedja’s wealth declaration, published by BIRN, his wealth in 2003 was valued at about 1.19 million lekë. In 2017, the judge’s wealth increased by a factor of 17, reaching 43,2 million lekë.
The KPK found several red flags in Dedja’s declaration. The Commission stated that the judge cannot justify where the money came from for the acquisition of two apartments, one in Durrës and another one in Tirana. Mr Dedja’s lawyer explained that the judge turned to his relatives for help with financing, but the KPK found that the relatives that lent the money to Dedja could not verify that they had that amount of money at that time.
Bashkim Dedja has had a long career within the Albanian judiciary system. He began working in 1993 in the Tirana Court. Afterwards, from 1996 to 1995 he served as a member of Tirana Court of Appeals, whereas, from 1998 to 2010, he served as a member of Durrws Court of Appeals.
He was appointed as a member of the Constitutional Court in 2010 and was elected as a Chairperson in 2012.
