American ambassador Yuri Kim seems hopeful that the Constitutional Court will be functional on December 31.
“When we look at the rules, the demands, the opinions of the Venice Commission […] when we look at the Constitution – your Constitution that is – international standards, the EU’s demands and our own expectations, there is no practical reason that it’s not possible to have a functioning Constitutional Court by December 31,” Kim told VoA on Thursday.
She said that she based this trust on the words of Speaker of Parliament Gramoz Ruci, and those of President Ilir Meta.
The ambassador responded to criticism of the vetting process by claiming that criticism is normal when it comes to any significant reform that concerns “people’s careers and reputations.”
Corruption, the ambassador said, is a cancer in Albania.
“That is why it is important that [the Special Prosecution against Corruption and Organized Crime] SPAK becomes completely functional. As we’ve seen in the last weeks the Special Prosecution has undertaken some real, concrete steps in important issues and we are now in the process of helping Albanians set up NBI [the National Bureau of Investigation], their own FBI, so that these investigations can be accelerated,” Kim said.
On December 7, Kim and EU Ambassador to Albania Luigi Soreca called upon the Justice Appointments Council (KED) to approve the final list of candidates for the Constitutional Court.
Three candidates have qualified for the Constitutional Court: Sonila Bejtja, Aleksandër Toma, and Altin Binaj.
Meanwhile, on December 7, the Administrative Appeals Court returned Zhaklina Peto to the race, dismissing KED’s decision to disqualify her.
Peto was disqualified twice, for being unable to meet the necessary criteria.
