The United Colleges are meeting today at 09:30 to consider the change in practice regarding the stance to be taken regarding the measure of detention in prison, when it is decided on the basis of the dangerousness of the offense.
According to Top Channel journalist Anila Hoxha, there are three main points on which a previous decision from 2011, concerning the Ilir Kumbaro case, will be reviewed and which has served as guidance for the judges.
The Supreme Court took its cue from Strasbourg's positions on Thoma Gëllçi, which emphasized that suspicion is not enough when investigations continue indefinitely, as well as from two other cases and legal changes.
Issues submitted for consideration before the Joint Panels of the Supreme Court
In view of the object of this interim decision related to the exercise by the President of the Supreme Court of the initiative for the partial change of the unified practice, and in order for the review before the United Panels to be clear and methodologically regular, the following issues are presented for resolution:
In interpreting Articles 228 and 230 of the CPC, is it consistent with these provisions and with Article 5 § 3 of the ECHR that, when the measure of “prison arrest” is requested or imposed, the court is not obliged to realistically analyze alternative measures and it is sufficient to justify that the measure chosen by it is appropriate for the specific case?
In interpreting Articles 228 and 230 of the CPC, can the “special dangerousness of the offense and of the defendant” be inferred as a criterion for determining the security measure of “prison arrest” solely or mainly from the nature of the criminal offense, from its general importance or from the margin of punishment, without a concrete and individualized assessment of the circumstances of the case and the person?
Who bears the burden of justifying the need for the imposition and continuation of the measure of “prison arrest” and is the position that the inappropriateness of this measure can only be accepted if the defendant presents positive evidence in accordance with Article 5 § 3 of the ECHR and Articles 228-230 of the CPC/ Top Channel