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Shkruar nga Pamfleti
The report highlights the institutional failure of the State Attorney's Office and delays by the Council of Ministers and the Ministry of Finance...
The Supreme State Audit Office has found that the State Attorney's Office, in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Finance and the Council of Ministers, has not yet managed to resolve and execute final decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in six cases against Albania, with a total compensation value of 17,968,650 euros.
In the context of an audit for the period 2023-2024, the SAI notes that the largest financial burden is related to the case of Sh. v. Albania, which constitutes about 75 percent of the total, with an obligation of approximately 13.3 million euros, based on a final decision dated May 28, 2018, which remains unexecuted.
The report also lists five other pending cases: the case Dk v. Albania worth 15,600 euros (2015 decision), the case “Dh. and Nk v. Albania” worth 4,417,750 euros (2016 decision), as well as three newer cases from 2024, namely I.srl K. v. Albania (10,800 euros), Zk v. Albania (60,000 euros) and M. & SFBs NV v. Albania (17,200 euros).
The SAI emphasizes that three of these cases have been final for over seven years and are still unexecuted, which brings an additional negative effect on the state budget due to the late payment interest that is applied on the compensation amounts. The non-implementation of these decisions is in direct contradiction with Article 46 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which provides for the obligation of states to implement the final decisions of the ECHR.
Regarding the three new decisions of 2024, the report highlights that the State Attorney's Office has sent to the Prime Minister's Office the requests for execution along with the relevant draft decisions of the Council of Ministers, but these decisions have not been approved within the legal deadline, being delayed for more than five months, in violation of Article 19/2 of the Law "On the State Attorney's Office".
The audit also highlights another serious financial issue: the Ministry of Finance has not calculated and reported the interests arising from delays in the execution of ECHR and international arbitration decisions, either in the 2023–2024 annual reports or in the public debt records. As a result, the State Attorney's Office does not have a complete overview of this additional obligation, while the audit team estimates that the real damage to the state budget is higher, but incalculable at the moment.
The report also highlights violations in the financial management of the institution. The State Attorney's Office has been penalized by the end of 2024 with 391,550 lek in fines by the Tirana Tax Directorate for delays in declarations, of which only 50,630 lek have been repaid, while the rest is in court. In addition, payments for per diems within the country in the amount of 82,500 lek have been found, made without supporting documentation, in violation of the relevant financial instructions.
In conclusion, the Supreme State Audit concludes that delays in the implementation of ECHR decisions, the lack of inter-institutional coordination and weaknesses in financial management constitute a serious risk for the state budget and for Albania's compliance with its international obligations, requiring immediate measures to be taken and institutional responsibilities to be established. /Pamphlet
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