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Shkruar nga Pamfleti
In Albania, the prosecution system has been suffering the consequences of the removal of prosecutors due to vetting for several years. In the 15 investigation bodies of the general jurisdiction, 40% of them are missing, tripling the work for the prosecutors on duty.
Experts in the legal field told the Voice of America that this load is putting the quality of the investigation at risk. Heads of the General Prosecutor's Office acknowledge the problem and say that the gaps in the system are expected to be filled in 5 years.
Meanwhile, they clarify that in order to cope with the load, measures have been taken by adding judicial police officers, who are an important support link for prosecutors in investigative processes.
For more than 6 years, since the process of re-evaluation of judges and prosecutors began to produce the first effects, the body of prosecutors has been reduced and today 193 out of 320 prosecutors, or 60% of them, are in the system. According to the Code of Criminal Procedure, prosecutors have deadlines in investigating cases.
Under the pressure of time to review the files, the investigative bodies have increased the volume of work. The General Prosecutor's Office confirmed to the Voice of America that the number of cases that a prosecutor examines on average per year reaches 500 from the 150-200 that he examined before Vetting started.
But all this load, according to lawyer Redi Ramaj, is jeopardizing the quality of the investigation.
"How can all these files be investigated by a prosecutor. We have magic with the acts of expertise performed by the prosecutor, that is, with receiving their answer. We have deficiencies with long delays in questioning witnesses. We are late with the summoning of the defendants and their questioning and then with the communication of the accusations. There are many cases when the investigations have reached the limit, by not carrying out the investigations requested by the defense side or by returning the files from the court for further investigations to the prosecutor's office. This is problematic for the citizens because the quality of the investigation drops," says Redi Ramaj, lawyer, for Voice of America.
Even the lawyer Dritan Jahaj, told the Voice of America that during the exercise of his profession, he found that the gaps in the prosecutors' corps have caused some problems, while he notes the fact that the time for considering the reports has also been extended.
"Other elements that are noticed in our daily practice are related to the fact that some investigative actions are not carried out, rightfully so, due to the workload of the prosecutors. They don't have the time that a prosecutor should take for a good investigation. This has caused many files to come to the court in pieces, as far as investigative actions are concerned" - says lawyer Jahaj.
The Prosecutor's Office of the General Jurisdiction of Tirana, as one of the largest investigative institutions in the country, in response to the interest of the Voice of America, confirmed that the increase in the number of cases for a prosecutor has led to an increase in the time of consideration of a case, for carrying out of procedural actions, while he did not answer the question whether the quality of the investigation was damaged due to the workload. A prosecutor on average participates in 5 trials a day, explains the Prosecutor's Office of Tirana, and that depending on the section and the criminal offense this number can change. This is how lawyer Ramaj explains this situation.
"The prosecutor can be ready and spend the whole day with security measures in the court, there is no time to conduct investigations. The burden of court hearings, every day and at any time, makes it impossible for the prosecutor, in the official schedule, apart from participating in court hearings and formulating the accusation, to carry out other investigations necessary for the file, or other files that is in the process" - continues Mr. Ramaj.
Leaders of the General Prosecutor's Office are aware of the emerging difficulties, as a result of the high volume of work of prosecutors. Kostaq Beluri, Prosecutor, Director of Coordination at this institution told the Voice of America that the legal spaces have been used to maintain quality.
"There is no question that the workload will affect the quality of the investigation, but in our instructions and suggestions, we have sacrificed more in extending the investigation deadlines than in reducing the quality. So we have logically accepted that it is better for a case to last on time and to carry out all the necessary investigative actions, than to try to finish it as soon as possible and reduce the quality in the investigation of cases. But the situation is not the same, for example, compared to SPAK. I have always said, it is a sacrifice to work in the prosecutor's office of general jurisdiction and to make successful cases, because it does not have the support and infrastructure that this prosecutor's office should have" - says Mr. Beluri.
Prosecutor Beluri singles out another element that has influenced the extension of the investigation time. In the Code of Criminal Procedure, a few years ago, the preliminary investigation judge was included, who controls all procedural activity of the prosecutor, decides whether a case goes to trial, returns for further investigations or is dismissed.
"One of the important changes is the inclusion of the link of the preliminary investigation judge in the Code of Criminal Procedure. This link prolonged the process of exercising the criminal prosecution, created difficulties in the duration of an investigation, which definitely had consequences in the process" - continues Kostaq Beluri, Prosecutor, Director of the Directorate of Institutional Coordination in the General Prosecutor's Office.
Përfaqësues të komunitettit të avokatëve, e shohin zgjatjen e kohës së hetimit deri në limit të afateve të vendosura në ligj, si shkelje të lirive dhe të të drejtave njeriut, pasi mjaft qytetarë që shpallen të pafajshëm qëndrojnë nën akuzë apo iu cënohet liria më gjatë.
Nga ana tjetër njohës të fushës së drejtësisë ngulmojnë në shtimin e burimeve njerëzore, dhe të stafit mbështetës të prokurorëve me qëllim rritjen e efektivitetit të punës së tyre. Ndryshe nga gjyqtarët, prokurorët nuk kanë sekretarë, ndërsa numri i oficerëve të policisë gjyqësore është i reduktuar.
“Një prokuror nuk ka ndihmën e nevojshme, duhet të ketë një ose dy oficerë të policisë gjyqësore që mbulojnë hetimet për një prokuror. Nuk kanë kushtet minimale. Nëse shkon në prokurorinë e Tiranës, do shohësh që zyrat e prokurorëve janë më të vogla se qelitë, janë të tejmbushura më dosje deri në tavan”-vijon Dritan Jahaj, avokat.
Prokuroria e Tiranës në përgjigje të interesit të Zërit të Amerikës tha se- “do të ishte një ndihmë e shtuar për prokurorin nëse do të kishte një sekretar, i cili do ta lehtësonte në punët me natyrë procedurale dhe organizimin e çështjeve”.
Nga ana tjetër Prokurori Kostaq Beluri në Prokurorinë e Përgjithshme sqaron për Zërin e Amerikës, se strategjia e këtij institucioni për të ulur ngarkesën e prokurorëve, synon rritjen e numrit të oficerëve të policisë gjyqësore. 60 të tillë janë shtuar në sistem duke bërë të mundur që numri i prokurorëve që janë në detyrë aktualisht të jetë i barabartë më atë të oficerëve të policsë gjyqësore. Por me plotësimin e vendeve vakante në trupën e prokurorëve ky raport pritet të ndryshojë në dëm të prokurorëve. Një hallkë e rëndësishme në shfryrjen e ngarkesës sqaron Z. Beluri, do ishte ndihmësi i prokurorit, që aktualisht nuk parashikohet në ligj.
“Krahasuar dhe me organizimin e punës që bëhet në vende të tjera ndihmësi do ishte shumë i nevojshëm në prokurori. Ndihmësi do të bënte ato veprime që ne sot mundohemi t’ia ngarkojmë oficerit të policisë gjyqësore, që nuk i takon. Është një variant që po diskutohet”- thotë Prokuror Beluri.
Nga ana tjetër, sipas Prokurorisë së Përgjithshme harta e re gjyqësore që solli bashkimin e disa gjykatave dhe për pasojë dhe të disa prokurorive, ka sjellë vështirësi në insfrastrukturë, kryesisht në Prokuroritë e Tiranës, Durrësit, Fierit apo Gjirokastrës.
Ekspertë të fushës juridike, nxisin ndryshime ligjore në funksion të përmirësimit të situatës në organet e hetimit.
“Ndryshimet kushtetuese që sollën reformën në drejtësi, duhen parë, por që të rishihen duhet bashkëpunim midis forcave politike. Mbase duhen ndryshime në kushtetutë. Çfarë nuk shkoi mirë të rregullohet” - shprehet për Zërin e Amerikës Saimir Vishaj, Avokat.
The High Prosecution Council, taking into consideration the trend of departures from Vetting and flows from the magistracy school to the prosecution system, gives this prognosis for the future.
"If we take into account the trend, we think that in 3 years the emergency will pass and in 5 years the situation will return to normal" - Tartar Bazaj, Deputy Chairman of the KLP.
The justice system, courts and prosecutors have 60% of judges and prosecutors in office today, and have been suffering the consequences of vetting for several years. The prosecution is facing a high volume of files, due to loopholes in the system, which is questioning the quality of the investigation. On the other hand, the stock of files in the courts has reached 114 thousand and the workload of judges has increased. Prognoses are not optimistic and citizens are expected to encounter delays in the administration of justice for at least the next 5 years. / VOA
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