Changes to the Criminal Code, Rama: We are the country with the heaviest burden of pre-trial detention, we cannot go on with such figures

As part of the justice reform, draft amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure have been presented, aiming to strengthen guarantees for citizens and increase the effectiveness of the justice system in the fight against crime and corruption.

During the presentation of the new package, Prime Minister Edi Rama said the justice reform has brought important results, but at the same time has also exposed weaknesses that, in his view, need to be addressed.

Rama focused in particular on the issue of pre-trial detention, emphasising that Albania has a high percentage of people held in prison while awaiting trial.

“We legislated the liberation of justice from political power after a chronic dependence dating back to 1912. Today we have learned a lot. We have seen the new strength of the reform and the weaknesses that emerged. We have seen results that once seemed unimaginable, but we have also seen failures and deformations that cannot be hidden behind results. This reform is as brutal as it is beneficial. For 10 years, it has demolished the cult of impunity,” Rama said.

According to Rama, the new package represents an important intervention to strengthen the presumption of innocence and human rights vis-a-vis the state.

“A justice system that is strong against crime and corruption must be just as strong in protecting the rights and freedoms of the citizen,” Rama said.

Referring to Council of Europe data, the prime minister said 62% of people in Albanian prisons are pre-trial detainees, while the European average is around 26%.

Rama described this as a serious problem for Albania’s justice system, calling for joint engagement by the judiciary and the executive to address the situation.

“This is the first intervention that fully addresses the presumption of innocence, where we strengthen the arm of human rights against the state. The Council of Europe placed before us a chilling mirror of where we stand, where the scales of justice tip very visibly toward the repressive weight of the state. This is the country that bears the heaviest burden of pre-trial detention. The Council of Europe’s latest report, dated 31 January 2025, shows that 62% of people in Albanian prisons are pre-trial detainees, that is, they are held in prison for what they are accused of and not for a sentence they have received. The European average was 26%. This is a very serious Albanian problem, which Albania’s new Code must address on paper and which we must face together, the judiciary and the executive — we by enabling the logistical challenge, and the magistrates by dedicating themselves to this package of guarantees as a mission of national dignity,” Rama said.

He called on prosecutors and judges to take into account the new changes and the standards of procedural guarantees, while emphasising that the consequences of the excessive use of pre-trial detention can be irreparable.

“How can we accept, in fact, that the comparison with Russia is even more shocking? There, in the homeland of repression, pre-trial detainees are 30% of the total prison population, that is, less than half of Albania, which is negotiating EU membership. Prosecutors and judges, we cannot go on with such figures, because the consequences are irreparable. This policy has a negative impact not only on the rights of its victims, but also on society,” Rama said.