Andrea Mazelliu, LLM
Faculty of Law and Social Sciences, University of New York Tirana, Albania
Ledja (Burnazi) Mitllari, LLM
Faculty of Law and Social Sciences, University of New York Tirana, Albania

The accession to the European Union is a guarantee for the future of Albania. It will provide numerous advantages once Albania becomes a full member. The rule of law holds an important place in the sustainability and equity of democratic governance, especially considering the European Union’s accession process to the Republic of Albania. The vetting process in Albania is considered a mechanism that will ensure the rule of law in the judicial decision-making process and be an important condition that the country should overtake in ensuring an uncorrupted judiciary system. The justice reform and especially the vetting process is considered to as the main component of the accession talks with the European Union. The reform carries major objectives and benefits whose outcomes hope to quell several issues the candidate country is facing, aspiring to reach the equitable level of changes and proper harmonization on European Union’s standards. The evaluation process is based on a three-criteria where temporary vetting organs conduct the investigation for each magistrate. Following this process, the dismissed judges have filed complaints to the European Court of Human Rights based on the right to due process.

Keywords: vetting, International Monitoring Operation, First Instance Commission, EU, SPAK (Special Anti-Corruption and Organized Crime Structures), European Court of Human Rights, harmonization, rule of law.

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