The XXVIII Division opens the contraband letters for Albanian government officials Changes in the Government begin. Arta Dade falls. Berisha translates Azemi. TV Shkodra, slogans against Nano

Albanian institutions are experiencing a fatal shock. The confrontational relations between the legislature and the judiciary reached their peak yesterday; 5 members of the Constitutional Court, "in defense of personal dignity", have filed a criminal complaint against Speaker Gjinushi, following the hypothetical accusation that "the Constitutional Court of Gjatës is falling out of play and is serving foreign interests". The judges’ reaction should not be interpreted as revanchism or as a merely political counterattack. The crisis between the branches of power cannot be covered up through Mr. Gjinushi’s "exceptional" statements. Everyone is observing that the legislature is exerting fierce pressure on the courts. In line with political models, the scope of Parliament’s legislative activity is being presented as confronted by one-sided prejudices and an atmosphere of intolerance. While respecting the depth of a politics that seeks to impose prefabricated laws, Parliament is creating the first precedents for the improper functioning of institutions. Although there is ample room to find solutions and to genuinely reform the institutions, institutional life has sunk into an impasse as a result of the tendency to guarantee political monopolies. Part of today’s institutional crisis certainly belongs to the legacy of the preceding political era, but the institutional disorder appears as an ongoing process. Let us hope, not with retrospection alone, for the activity of the law on Continued on page 2

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Skënder Gjinushi will be prosecuted for his statement on Albanian TV on 5 December. Gjinushi said: "The Constitutional Court of Gjatës is falling out of play and is serving foreign interests, outside Albania." This statement was repeated again at Gjinushi’s press conference on 8 December. For Rustem Gjata, Manol Konomi, Hilmi Daki, Halil Kopani and Alfred Karamuco, this statement constitutes deliberate defamation because of state activity against the chairman and members of the Constitutional Court. In this way, Skënder Gjinushi is publicly seeking to discredit the Constitutional Court before national and international public opinion. In these circumstances, an investigation is requested. Skënder Gjinushi is to be reported for criminal prosecution on the charge of defamation. Read on page 3 Gjinushi laughs at the lawsuit

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Private police officer R. Shabani, 35, has been found shot dead at his guard post. According to Police sources, the victim is believed to have been shot dead at the Oil Factory, at his post of duty around 8:30 p.m. After receiving the report, police forces and the investigative team arrived at the scene.

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