The court tariff increases envisioned by the draft law “About juridical aid and court tariffs,” which today will be voted in Parliament, limited the constitutional right of citizens to appeal court decisions against them.
According to art. 43 of the Constitution,
Everyone has the right to appeal a court decision at a higher court, except when the Constitution provides differently.
Based on this constitutional right, civil society organizations have taken issue with art 5(3) of the new draft law, which was presented in Parliament on October 20. According to these organization, the tariff increase would threaten the accessibility of appeal.
Currently, the costs of opening a case at the court of first instance is 1% of the value of the lawsuit, while an appeal costs 200 lekë. According to the new draft law, costs for an appeal would rise to 2,000–10 million lekë, thus as least the tenfold of the current tariff.
The tariff for opening a court case would be raised to a maximum of 20 million lekë, an amount which is out of reach for anyone expect the small class of oligarchs connected to the government.
The new law therefore risks installing a class-based judicial system, making full access to all levels of the court available only to the few.
