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The implementers of the new Criminal Code are against, for whom was the Code made?

2025-08-06 20:15:12Fokus SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

Prosecutors, lawyers and judges, (the three parties to a criminal process), were placed before the fact committed by 950 articles of the new Criminal Code, which they oppose in a large part, but if the majority with its votes approves it, the people of justice must implement it.

As soon as the draft of the Criminal Code was published on the official website of the Ministry of Justice, at the same time as the conference held on the "achievements" of this Code, there were numerous reactions.

Few voices that came to the defense were representatives of the government, specifically the Minister of Justice and the Prime Minister, as well as the head of the working group, Arben Rakipi.

Well-known constitutionalists, lawyers and heads of prosecutions and the judiciary, raised the concern that in essence, this Code is not comprehensive, increases the repressive measures of imprisonment for cases that could be criminal offenses and leaves room for interpretation, but also misinterpretations.

The government takes it "easy"

The Minister of Justice, Ulsi Manja, on the day of the presentation of the new Criminal Code, said that it is the product of a comprehensive process and according to him, the best experts have contributed to the drafting.

"The New Criminal Code is the product of a comprehensive and professional process, where the best criminal law experts are engaged. It aims at approximation with EU and international conventions, directives and standards, recommendations of key justice institutions, as well as the contributions of international partners, academics, civil society and the media", said Manja.

But is the draft so far the product of a comprehensive process, as Minister Manja stated?

The first to react was the Prosecutor General, Olsian Çela. "The General Prosecutor's Office has not been officially represented in the working group for drafting a new Criminal Code," he said.

On the same day, through an informal meeting that the chairman of SPAK, Altin Dumani, held with journalists, it turned out that the Special Prosecutor's Office was not part of the working group for drafting the new Criminal Code. Dumani did not comment on the new draft, as long as, according to him, the package of proposals had not yet arrived in SPAK.

The European Union, through a reaction to Faktoje.al, also emphasized the importance of a comprehensive and transparent process for the package of draft amendments to the new Criminal Code, including justice institutions, rule of law actors and civil society.

The OSCE Presence in Albania has also emphasized the importance of the Criminal Code as a basic law, which deserves sufficient time and a full consultation process.

Even the president of the Albanian Bar Association, Maksim Haxhia, said in an official reaction that the draft of the Criminal Code should come out with a communication to all actors. "We do not have the presence of the need why a new Code is needed. It is not as a result of the need for justice bodies," he said

Feedback

Although at the table for the presentation of the draft for the new Criminal Code were the Minister of Justice Ulsi Manja and the head of the working group, drafter of the Code, former chief prosecutor Arben Rakipi, the first to cast doubts on this code immediately was the head of the Supreme Court, Sokol Sadushi.

"Let's not forget that criminal law is not just for lawyers. It is for society and if it is not understood, it is likely not to be respected, but if it is not implemented correctly, justice is not done either", said Sadushi.

The Prosecutor General, Olsian Çela, appeared more direct in strong criticism. "The general spirit in the draft to expand the circle of actions that are categorized as dangerous to such an extent that they are classified as criminal offenses and punishable by imprisonment, shows a repressive tendency that increases the potential of criminalization of the individual in society and that brings important consequences in the lives of citizens," said Çela.

The constitutionalist, lawyer and lecturer, Jordan Daci, in a reaction to Faktoje.al, says that the new Code has expanded the range of criminal offenses, has overburdened it with interpretations and according to him it is deeply problematic if it passes for approval. "Offenses that can be included as a criminal offense with the New Code are considered criminal offenses. With this Code, anyone can go to prison", he said, while adding that it is a repressive draft code and "it should not be patched, but undone all".

Lawyer Daci goes further as he states that if this Code is approved, as it is or with some patches, many articles will go to the Constitutional Court for interpretation

Code Drafters

The initiative for a new Criminal Code was political, where the majority at the end of 2019 made public the need for a new Code aligned with the EU countries and the establishment of the expert group.

Faktoje.al addressed the Ministry of Justice with a request for information on the composition of the working group, but until the publication of this article there was no official position.

From the analysis he has done of the new Criminal Code, lawyer Daci says that more than the work of experts in this case we have copies of codes from Turkey, France and Italy that have been modified, which, according to him, has brought overload and often articles that talk about the same criminal fact and contradict other articles, in the same Code.

"The new code has problems of a principled character and also of legal technique," says Daci.

Conclusion The new Criminal
Code has met with opposition from the heads of the justice system, the Chamber of Advocates and representatives of civil society but also the media. The immediate reactions from the main bodies of justice but also outside it show that the process (so far) for the drafting of the new Criminal Code has not been comprehensive, categorizing the statement of Minister Ulsi Manja as untrue. /Faktoje.al


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