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Prime Minister Edi Rama declared on Monday that he would not implement a decision of the Strasbourg Court in the case "Sharxhi and Others v. Albania", which also benefits the father-in-law of the former leader of the Democratic Party, Lulzim Basha, while the interest on arrears has cost Albanian taxpayers over 4 million euros.
A sensational collapse of a palace built on the coast of Vlora in 2014 has left Albanian taxpayers with a bill of 13.4 million euros – in the form of compensation for the owners, according to a 2018 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights.
But the government refuses to compensate the beneficial owners, among whom is the father-in-law of the former leader of the Democratic Party, Lulzim Basha, despite the fact that the interest accrued from the non-implementation of the decision has already reached the figure of nearly 4 million euros.
Although this figure is growing progressively every day, on Monday, during a virtual conversation on the social network 'Facebook', Prime Minister Edi Rama boasted that he would continue not to implement the European Court's decision.
"We have not given any compensation for that case," Rama said with a dose of pride, while adding: "Not even one!" "When Luli comes to power, let him give himself that money, but as long as I am here, this will not happen, because there are many others ahead who deserve to be compensated before Luli," Rama replied to a follower who asked him about the case.
But what Rama did not say is that every month that the Albanian government does not implement the decision, it increases the interest on arrears at the expense of taxpayers, which, according to the Council of Europe's calculations, had reached 3,967,000 euros by March 2025.
In a March decision, the CoE Committee of Ministers expressed “serious concern about the non-payment of financial compensation” and urged the Albanian government to fulfill its obligations by December 2025.
"If no concrete steps are taken for payment, the matter will be reconsidered during the 1545th meeting in December 2025 and new binding measures may be taken," the Committee's decision reads.
The government did not respond to BIRN's question as of the publication of this article whether the Prime Minister is knowingly committing 'abuse of office' by not implementing the court's binding decision, nor did it comment on the Council of Europe's decisions.
Lawyers consider Rama's public statements to have no legal value in light of the decision of the European Court of Human Rights and emphasize that this is an obligation that the Albanian state will fulfill, sooner or later.
“The government has no right to challenge the decision,” lawyer Roden Hoxha told BIRN.
"It is final and cannot be overturned by government statements or decisions," he added.
Hoxha, who has served as the Permanent Representative of the Government Agent to the Strasbourg Court, explains that the longer the implementation of the decision drags on, the more it weighs on Albanians' taxes.
“This decision has been in place for almost 10 years and, for the winning families, it is better not to execute it immediately,” he explained, adding that “their future generations will benefit from a ‘bank deposit’ that matures continuously at a much higher rate than a regular savings deposit.”
The “Jon” complex was demolished with explosives in 2013 to make way for the Lungomare project in the city of Vlora. Along with it, dozens of buildings, bars and restaurants along the coastline were leveled.
The owners of the complex took the case to the European Court of Human Rights, claiming that Albanian authorities ignored a temporary court order prohibiting any action on the property, and they won.
Initially, the Albanian government justified the delay in payment with the state of natural disaster – first the earthquake and then the COVID-19 pandemic.
For Hoxha, Rama's behavior and refusal to implement the decisions of the conventions to which Albania is a member have another consequence: damaging the country's international reputation.
“A state that is party to a convention and refuses to implement its rules automatically damages its reputation in terms of respecting international obligations,” he concluded. / BIRN
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