Initial jurisdiction of the high court and constitutional reform in Albania.

• Author: Elsa Miha - Lirime Çukaj (Papa)
• Position: Prosecutor at Tirana District Prosecution - University of Tirana, Faculty of Law
• Pages: 57-65

57

Vol. 3 No. 2

September, 2017

Balkan Journal of Interdisciplinary Research

IIPCCL Publishing, Graz-Austria

ISSN 2410-759X

Acces online at www.iipccl.org

Initial jurisdiction of the high court and constitutional reform in Albania

ElsaMiha

Prosecutor at Tirana District Prosecution

Assoc. Prof. Lirime Çukaj (Papa)

University of Tirana, Faculty of Law

Abstract

TheHighCourt oftheRepublic ofAlbaniaispart ofthejustice systemandaccording tothe

ConstitutionoftheRepublicofAlbaniaofitalsohasinitialjurisdiction

Thusitadjudicatesintherstinstanceasacourtoffactthecriminalchargesagainstcertain

special entities such as the President of the Republic of Albania, the Prime Minister and the

Cabinet of the Government, members of Parliament, members of the Constitutional Court,

and members of the High Court.

InthecontextofthejudicialreformandtheconstitutionalreformofJulytheconstitutional

provisions regulating the initial jurisdiction of the High Court were also changed These

specialentitiescitedabove butnotonlywouldbetriedby aspecialcourtsuchastheCourt

againstCorruptionandOrganizedCrimeInordertoadjudicatetheseentitiesthelawmaker

adoptedthespeciallaw 1 and at the same time, later, approximately 1 year later, changed the

CodeofCriminalProcedurewhichdenedtheinitialjurisdictionoftheHighCourtButthe

establishmentofspecialstructures thatwouldadjudicatetheseentitieswasdelayedandstill

todayinnosuchstructureshavebeenestablished

Theconstitutionalamendmentsdidnotprovidefortheregulationofthetransitionalsituation

aboutthecourtthesespecialsubjectswouldbetriedbyinthecircumstanceswhentheHigh

CourtwasdeprivedofinitialjurisdictionTheseandotherissueswillbetreatedinthishumble

and non-exhaustive article.

Keywords: initial jurisdiction of the High Court, special subjects, the Court against Corruption

and Organized Crime, the Prosecution against Corruption and Organized Crime.

1. Initial Jurisdiction of the High Court under the Constitution of 1998

TheinitialjurisdictionoftheHighCourtthatistosaytherstinstanceadjudication

by the High Court of the special entities is provided for in the Constitution of the

RepublicofAlbaniaadoptedin, as a foundation act of the Albanian state.

Thusthechapteronjudicialpower3 Article 135 of the Constitution, stipulates that:

“ThejudicialpowershallbeassumedbytheHighCourtaswellasbytheappealcourtsrst

instance courts, which shall be established by law”, i.e. this Article provides that the High

Court is part of the judicial power, but it does not specify its initial jurisdiction.

Meanwhilethe chapterof theConstitutionArticles4 about the High Court, clearly

prescribe that the High Court enjoys initial jurisdiction.

1 Law no. 95/2016, On the Organization and Functioning of Institutions Combating Corruption and Organized

Crime.

2 Adopted by Law no. 8417, dated 21.10.1998 of Parliament.

3 See Article 135 of the Constitution of the Republic of Albania.

4 See Article 141 of the Constitution of the Republic of Albania.