Albanian Criminal Procedure Bill Slammed as Bid to ‘Neuter’ Anti-Graft Body

While addressing widely-held concerns about pretrial detention measures, a bill to rewrite a big chunk of Albania’s Code of Criminal Procedure has been met with consternation among judges, prosecutors and civil society groups worried it will ‘neuter’ a key anti-corruption body none too popular with PM Edi Rama. Prosecutors in Albania were taken aback last week when the government unexpectedly unveiled a bill running to 106 articles and revising roughly a fifth of the country’s Code of Criminal Procedure. The bill proposes scrapping pretrial detention in criminal cases carrying a maximum sentence of five years in prison, introducing new requirements for prosecutors in the conduct of investigations, and strengthening rules governing investigative secrecy. It would further prohibit the public disclosure of the fact that a person is under investigation. In 2016, Albania introduced sweeping reforms to its justice system that established the Special Prosecution Office Against Corruption and Organised Crime, SPAK. This body has since brought a string of cases against senior officials from the ruling Socialist Party and its main rival, the Democrats. Subscribe to Balkan Insight Premium to read the full article. Please login to your account below if you are already a Premium Subscriber. Buy Premium Subscription Our Premium Service gives you full access to all content published on BalkanInsight.com, including analyses, investigations, comments, interviews and more. Choose your subscription today and get unparalleled in-depth coverage of the Southern and Eastern Europe. Buy Premium Subscription If you have trouble logging in or any other questions regarding you account, please contact us