“We copy Italy, but we don’t have the infrastructure,” lawyer says: The justice system is in collapse

Lawyer Arbër Hoxhaj said that the abolition of the Courts of Appeal has led the justice system into collapse.

“The Courts of Appeal were abolished and only one was created. This has brought many problems and collapsed the system. There are only 32 judges, there are no premises in which to hold trials, there are only 4 criminal courtrooms. Even in communist times, the solemnity of trials was higher. The collapse of the system came from a lack of consultation. It is true that Italy is divided into 20 regions and those regions have almost the population of Albania, and they have only one Court of Appeal, as Puglia does. But we do not have Italy’s capacities,” Hoxhaj said in the “Terminal” studio with Loneta Progni, on A2 CNN.

“Above all, we do not have Italy’s infrastructure. The neighbouring country has public transport, it has trains and everything else. A citizen from Saranda, by contrast, has to travel 4–5 hours by car to come to Tirana. Access to justice has been removed. In my view, the Special Prosecution should open criminal proceedings against the members of the High Judicial Council who did this damage to Albania’s justice system. At least two more courts should be opened, one in Shkodër and one in Vlorë,” the lawyer added.