The budget has lost 826 million lek from the compensation of dismissed judges

The total financial loss to the state budget from the dismissals and suspensions of judges is estimated at 826.7 million lek by the end of 2023.

The judicial system in Albania continues to face major challenges, while the transitional revaluation process has highlighted deep structural problems, also creating large financial costs for the state budget. In 2023, the judicial system operated at only 60% of its capacity, marking a slight increase of 4.7% compared to 2022. This increase is the result of the appointments of new magistrates, who completed the initial training program at the School of Magistrates during the 2022-2023 academic year.

In total, from 2019 to the end of 2023, 112 new magistrates have been appointed to the judicial system, including 4 judges to the High Court appointed from among prominent jurists and 108 graduates of the School of Magistrates. However, this improvement has not been sufficient to fill the gap created by the mass departures of judges due to the transitional revaluation process.

The transitional re-evaluation process, which aims to clean up the judicial system, has caused significant losses for the state budget. As of December 31, 2023, 137 judges have been dismissed from their posts by decision of the Independent Qualification Commission (IKC). The financial effect of this process has reached 614,817,337 lekë, according to data from the Report of the High Judicial Council for the year 2023.

The transitional revaluation process has created a heavy financial burden on the state, increasing expenses and limiting the full functioning of the judicial system.

For 2023, 11 more judges have been dismissed from office and are awaiting the development of the process in the Special Appeals Chamber (SAC), benefiting according to the law 75% of their salary. The financial effect of this situation amounts to 17,353,600 lekë. In total during the year, 73 dismissed judges are still awaiting the final decision from the SAC, also benefiting 75% of their salary, at a cost to the budget of 194,507,025 lekë.

To calculate the total financial loss from dismissals and suspensions of judges in the judicial system until December 31, 2023, we need to summarize all the financial effects mentioned:

Financial effect until 2023 from the dismissal of 137 judges: 614,817,337 lekë,

Financial effect for the 11 dismissed judges in 2023 who receive 75% of their salary (pending the KPA process): 17,353,600 lek,

Financial effect for the other 73 dismissed judges who receive 75% of their salary and are still in the process at the KPA: 194,507,025 lekë,

Total: 826,677,962 lek.

Taken from Monitor