The new changes bring us closer to the EU — Lawyer: There is endless abuse in the judicial system; the oversight mechanism must be reviewed

In an interview on “Ora e Fundit” on ABC News, lawyer Edmond Petraj spoke about the new changes to the Criminal Procedure Code.

He stressed that the focus of these changes is human rights, and that there are corrections to the reform.

“In general, if you look at the new Criminal Procedure Code, the lawyer has a lot of access and rights, but the problem is that they are not implemented. We have a duality of power. The prosecution body, the prosecutor and the court do not implement the requests the lawyer makes, even though they are part of the procedure and provided for by law. The lawyer asks for something he is entitled to by law, but it is often not taken into account. Where do you complain? In many cases, there is nowhere to complain. Even the High Inspectorate of Justice does not function as it should. Many institutions do not function, so I think the whole mechanism must be reviewed,” he said.

During the interview, lawyer Petraj added that, in his view, there is currently abuse, and that there are prosecutors and judges who today are out of control.

“There is endless abuse. There are files where the prosecutor, based on his conviction or a reasonable suspicion, seeks the conviction of a person. But the problem is that the prosecutor’s mistake is also suffered by the judge, when the court takes the prosecution’s side rather than that of justice.

The strongest thing is that in many cases the prosecutor’s mistake and file are simply legalised. There are countless citizens affected by the dilettantism, egoism and adventurism of prosecutors and judges. There are prosecutors and judges who today are out of control. The relevant mechanisms, such as the High Inspectorate of Justice and the High Prosecutorial Council, must control them. But the problem is that these mechanisms, so far, have not functioned as they should. For this reason, the position and the oversight mechanism must be reviewed. The lawyer must be given new powers and his role in the process must be genuinely strengthened,” he underlined.

He further stressed that the Criminal Procedure Code must be put in order and administrative measures strengthened. According to him, only through a clear system of accountability can the situation improve.