10 challenges of the new General Prosecutor and 10 advices for him

By Roland Qafoku

In all likelihood, within December, Albania will have a new General Prosecutor. Despite calculations, the opposition’s rejections, the offer of the Prime Minister for the head of the opposition, but also the constitutional deadlines that exist, the country is expected to learn the name of the 8th prosecutor in the history of the country after the fall of communism. Although he will be an interim prosecutor, he has an extraordinary importance not only for the period that the judicial system is going through, but also due the fact that the reformation of the prosecution will show if the judicial reform will be conducted as it was promised or  not. As a journalist who for years in a row has covered this institution, I would like to point out the 10 challenges that await the General Prosecutor.

• ALTHOUGH HE IS AN INTERIM PROSECUTOR

Although the new chief prosecutor will have a temporary mandate, he has an extraordinary importance. The current prosecution is in a state of conflict with the majority, with foreign diplomats and US embassy and the engagement of the new general prosecutor in the fight against corruption will also include an engagement with the institutions of the Albanian state and foreign partners.

• TRUST SHOULD BE RESTORED ON THE PROSECUTION

The first challenge that the new prosecutor will face is to restore trust on this institution. To a large extent, at the moment, Albanians continue not to trust justice and prosecution is part of this system. Therefore, the new prosecutor must restore the trust in this institution and the fight against crime.

• HONESTY AND JUSTICE

The debate on the system and the individual has its own importance. However perfect the prosecution may be, if the general prosecutor is not a person who is honest and just, then it all goes to waste. Therefore, the name of the new general prosecutor must be based on these two tests which he must have passed in the past.

• CORRUPT PEOPLE MUST BE OUSTED FROM THE PROSECUTION

I can say that one of the most honest institutions in Albania if we compare it to courts and lawyers, is prosecution. The Albanian prosecution has many honest people, but it also has corrupted people. Therefore, in the worst scenario, the general prosecutor must not motivate them and in the best scenario, he must oust them from the system. Of course, it’s the vetting that automatically gets rid of them, but the auditing of their assets is only one side of things, because they could bypass it. However, the new general prosecutor also has another weapon in his hands. His way of working is the best screening system for everyone. So, what he needs to do first is to oust corrupt people and incompetent people from the system.

• NO MORE BALANCES WITH SP AND DP

The new general prosecutor must not see criminal cases against politicians and state officials as elements of balance. In these 27 years, we have seen that arrests have seen a balance based on the number and criminal charges. The new general prosecutor must give up this sort of balance, which makes one think that he represents a party and not the prosecution.

• OPENED CASES SHOULD BE SENT TO THE COURT

For a long time now politicians are doing politics with many judicial cases where politicians are involved. Not a day goes by when the opposition doesn’t accuse the majority that the Prime Minister, ministers, MPs and its officials are involved in corruption affairs. Meanwhile, not a day goes by when the majority doesn’t accuse the former PM, former ministers and former officials as being tied to corruption. The new general prosecutor must not allow for the prosecution to follow this kind of tactic, where in the end, investigations end.

• PROSECUTOR MUST ATTACK THE STRONGEST LINK

Investigating, arresting and indicting an official or politician just because he has not a lot of political support, would be a spectacular failure for the new general prosecutor. The new general prosecutor must not be focused on attacking the weakest link. He should attack crime wherever crime is.

• FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION

If the new general prosecutor wonders what the Prime Minister will think or what the head of the opposition will think before he orders an arrest, then he has failed in his mission. We have often been witnesses of cases when the prosecution has been on the verge of handcuffing officials and the reaction of the political class has been outrageous. Then, the prosecution has withdrawn. We have tens of cases like this one. This is why the new general prosecutor must never budge.

• FIGHT AGAINST CRIME

There’s no evidence which proves that crime has not grown significantly. Meanwhile, parliament is lacking reports from the prosecution. As such, the second battle of the prosecution is the battle against crime. There are nearly 1 thousand wanted people and over 100 people who are killed every year. This should be a challenge for the prosecution.

• THE INTERIM WHICH COULD BECOME PERMANENT

It’s not a heresy if the new interim general prosecutor becomes a permanent one. As citizen of this country, I would be very happy if the new prosecutor becomes permanent once he is appointed as interim.

Note: The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Albanian Free Press’ editorial policy