{"id":11956,"date":"2019-01-03T10:16:41","date_gmt":"2019-01-03T10:16:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ais.al\/new\/?p=11956"},"modified":"2019-01-07T11:28:55","modified_gmt":"2019-01-07T11:28:55","slug":"ais-addresses-the-court-of-strasbourg-in-the-absence-of-both-a-high-court-and-a-constitutional-court-in-the-country-asking-this-court-to-review-the-merits-of-a-case-which-is-now-in-a-process-of-reco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ais.al\/new\/en\/ais-addresses-the-court-of-strasbourg-in-the-absence-of-both-a-high-court-and-a-constitutional-court-in-the-country-asking-this-court-to-review-the-merits-of-a-case-which-is-now-in-a-process-of-reco\/","title":{"rendered":"AIS addresses the Court of Strasbourg in the absence of both a High Court and a Constitutional Court in the country, asking this court to review the merits of a case, which is now in a process of recourse."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On the 19th<\/sup> of November, AIS addressed\nthe European Court of Human Rights, Council of Europe, asking this court to\nconsider AIS claim against Albania as a matter of priority and examine the\nmerits of this case for compliance with Article 6, Article 10, and Article 13\nof the European Convention for Human Rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such application comes at a time when the High Court,\nwhere a recourse is filed, and the Constitutional Court are non-functional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The arguments for the case, whose merits are to be\nreviewed by the Court, are presented to the Court of Strasbourg as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subject:   Request to deal as a matter of priority the\napplication AIS v Albania<\/em> and to\nexamine the merits of this case for breach of article 6, article 10 and article\n13 of the European Convention of Human Rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On\n9 June 2015, during the local electoral campaign, the Albanian Institute of\nScience (AIS)[1]<\/a>  \u2013 an Albanian NGO – sent an official request\nto the three main electoral subjects, i.e. the Socialist Party (SP), the\nDemocratic Party (DP), and the Socialist Movement for Integration (SMI) asking\nthem for the following information:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. list of\ndonors of non-public funds, from whom they had benefitted since 21 May 2015\namounts above 100 000 (one hundred thousand) ALL or the equivalent value in\nservices or goods;<\/li>
  2. list of\nevery expense made since 21 May 2015 using the annual funds benefitted from the\nstate budget in 2015.<\/li><\/ol><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The\nabove electoral subjects did not respond to our request. Therefore, pursuant to\nArticle 24 of Law no. 119\/2014 \u201cOn the right (access) to information\u201d, AIS\nfiled a complaint with the Commissioner for the Right to Information and\nProtection of Personal Data on 7 July 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The\nCommissioner for the Right to Information and Protection of Personal Data\ninformed us on 25 July 2015 of its decision no. 44, dated 22.07.2015 on\n\u201cRejection of complaint\u201d. The Commissioner rejected our request no. 675, dated\n9.07.2015, arguing that \u201cthe requested\ninformation is to be administered by the organizations foreseen by this law and\nit\u2019s Article 2, which are not defined as public authorities in terms of how\nthey are organized, how they operate, and their regulatory legal framework\u201d<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Pursuant\nto Article 25 of Law no. 119\/2014 \u201cOn the right to information\u201d, the Albanian\nInstitute of Science filed a lawsuit with the Administrative Court of First\nInstance of Tirana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Upon\ncompletion of the court hearings, the Administrative Court of First Instance of\nTirana delivered the decision no. 5687, dated 10.11.2015 according to which:\n\u201cThe court rejects the lawsuit of the Albanian Institute of Science against the\nCommissioner for the Right to Information and Protection of Personal Data, the\nSocialist Party of Albania, the Democratic Party of Albania, and the Socialist\nMovement for Integration of Albania, which claims the \u201cAbrogation of decision\nno. 44, dated 22.07.2015 of the Commissioner of the Right to Information and\nProtection of Personal Data as a lawsuit not based on evidence or law. The\ncourt forces the political parties (electoral subjects), i.e. the Socialist\nParty, the Democratic Party, and the Socialist Movement for Integration to\nprovide the Albanian Institute of Science with the information requested about\nthe financing of their electoral campaigns as per its (AIS\u2019) request dated 9\nJune 2015.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The\nAlbanian Institute of Science complained against the decision of the\nAdministrative Court of First Instance by addressing the Administrative Court\nof Appeal on 25 November 2015. The Administrative Court of Appeal by decision\nno 5236, date 22.11.2017 decided to uphold the decision of Tirana First\nInstance Administrative Court. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The\ncase now is pending before the Supreme Court of Albania. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    AIS\naddressed the European Court of Human Rights on 18 May 2016, asking this Court\nto express itself on this adjudication process, and whether they constitute a\nviolation of Articles 6 and article 13 of the European Convention of Human\nRights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As you may\nknow on July 22, 2016, the Parliament of Albania approved 17 constitutional\namendments required to reform the justice system, aspiring to change its image\nby making it more independent, accountable and efficient. These constitutional\namendments, inter alia<\/em> represent the\nimplementation of the Vetting Law, known as the temporary re-evaluation of the\njudges and prosecutors of the Republic of Albania. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The process\nof reassessing members of the judiciary system, otherwise known as the vetting\nprocess, started in November 2017 and will include over 800 judges and\nprosecutors, as well as a number of other employees of the justice system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Up to nowadays\nthe results of the vetting process are for the Supreme Court only 4 judges\npassed the vetting, and two of them are still under review procedures at the\nAppeal Chamber.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So far,\nthe Constitutional Court is the institution that has been hit hardest by the\nvetting process. Out of nine members, only two have successfully passed the\nverdict and one of them is in the appeal process before the Appeal Chamber. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    No one in\nAlbania is able to predict when there will be established and become\nfunctional, both the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court. Consequently\nno one in Albania can give an answer when the AIS appeal in the Supreme Court\nand eventually in the Constitutional Court will be judged. Meanwhile the topic\nof the request and of the whole thing loses the actuality because the request\nfor the transparency of the finances of the political parties in the elections\nwas made in 2015, still has no final answer from the Administrative College of\nthe Supreme Court\/ Constitutional Court and meanwhile there are also next local\nelections to be held in June 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Furthermore\nwe want to add in the AIS application the legal arguments and request to\nconsider the claim for breach of article 10 of the European Court of Human\nRights by Albania.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The European Court of Human Rights in the case Magyar Helsinki Bizottsag v Hungary<\/em> did\nrecognize that such a right to information or obligation to provide information\nmay arise in two categories of cases: (1) where disclosure of the information\nhas been imposed by an enforceable judicial order, and (2) in circumstances\nwhere access to the information is instrumental for an individual\u2019s exercise of\ntheir right to freedom of expression, and where its denial constitutes an\ninterference with that right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Court went\non to set out four principles, drawn from its more recent case law relating to\naccess to information, that could be relied on to determine whether a denial of\naccess falls within the second category of case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    – The purpose of the information request<\/em><\/strong>: it is a requirement, before Article 10 can come into play, for the\ninformation sought to be necessary for the exercise of the right to freedom of\nexpression. The right to vote can be considered as freedom of expression and\nknowing in advance before the election date the financing of political parties\nis a precondition for free and fair election. This can be demonstrated where\nthe denial of the information would hinder or impair and individual\u2019s exercise\nof the right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    – The nature of the information sought<\/em><\/strong>: the information to which access is sought must generally meet a\n\u201cpublic-interest test\u201d for the disclosure to be necessary under Article 10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    – The role of the applicant<\/em><\/strong>: where the individual is seeking access to the information with a view\nto informing the public in a capacity as a public or social watchdog, this will\nbe an important consideration in determining whether Article 10 applies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    – Ready and available information<\/em><\/strong>: the extent to which the information being sought is ready and\navailable will also be an important criterion when determining whether Article\n10 is applicable to a case where an individual has been denied access to\ninformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Based on\nthese conditions, please consider our request to examine also the merits of the\ncase in the application AIS v Albania<\/em>\nat the European Court of Human Rights submitted on 18 May 2016 regarding the\nbreach of article 6, article 10 and article 13 of European Convention, and please\nconsider as well the possibility of expediting the procedure for AIS application\nexamination in Strasbourg, as soon as it is possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Hoping\nthat our request will be taken into consideration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Aranita Brahaj<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Executive Director of AIS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Legal representative\nViktor Gumi  Attorney at Law<\/strong>
    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Prior phases of the Court process of AIS vs Political Parties for transparency on electoral financies<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n

    [1]<\/a> Albanian Institute of Science (AIS) is an\nAlbanian registered NGO. Its mission is to promote scientific\nactivity and applied research in Albania to solve socio-economic problems,\nincrease transparency, and strengthen civic engagement and respect for human\nrights. Financing of political parties during electoral campaigns and informing\nthe public in a capacity as a public or social watchdog has been for many years\none of the main activities by AIS. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    On the 19th of November, AIS addressed the European Court of Human Rights, Council of Europe, asking this court to consider AIS claim against Albania as a matter of priority and examine the merits of this case for compliance with Article 6, Article 10, and Article 13 of the European Convention for Human Rights. Such application […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5789,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[64,73,58,1,80,83],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aktivitete","category-events","category-homeposts","category-kreupost","category-njoftime-per-shtyp","category-press-releases"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ais.al\/new\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ais.al\/new\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ais.al\/new\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ais.al\/new\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ais.al\/new\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11956"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ais.al\/new\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11956\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11960,"href":"https:\/\/ais.al\/new\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11956\/revisions\/11960"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ais.al\/new\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ais.al\/new\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ais.al\/new\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ais.al\/new\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}