It is unconstitutional the decision of the Plenum of the Court of Cassation dated 26.07.1995 on the examination, after 31 July 1995, of requests for legal protection in criminal cases. This was decided yesterday at the meeting of the Constitutional Court of Albania, after the matter was examined in an open court session concerning the request filed by the Council of Ministers, represented by the Minister of Justice Frasheri, and the interested parties, the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Albania Alush Dragoshi and Fatos Nano, represented by lawyer Perparim Sanxhaku, with the subject: declaring unconstitutional the meeting of the Plenum of the Court of Cassation and its examination of requests for legal protection in criminal matters. The decision of the Constitutional Court, announced in the form of a ruling, was yesterday handed over for enforcement to the Court of Cassation in Tirana. DYLEJMAN KARAJ

The Press and Information Office at the President’s Office announces that yesterday afternoon at 18:00 President Berisha held a meeting with the parliamentary group of the PD. At this meeting, the President briefed the deputies in detail on the results of his visit to the USA. The President described this visit as highly fruitful and as a very important indicator in bilateral relations with the United States of America. He stressed that at the White House, the Department of State, the Senate and the American Congress there are strong friendly feelings toward Albania and Albanians, great appreciation for the achievements of legislative, institutional and economic reforms in Albania, as well as a special determination to help Albania consolidate its institutions and develop the market economy. President Berisha emphasized that President Clinton had committed himself to increasing US economic aid to Albania, encouraging American investment in Albania, increasing technical assistance for institutional consolidation, as well as military cooperation. The issue of Albanians in the former Yugoslavia and the Kosovo problem were among the main topics discussed in Washington. At the meeting with President Clinton, Secretary of State Christopher, as well as in the meetings in the American Congress and Senate, President Berisha found full support for a fair solution to the Kosovo problem.

Berat: Today the national folk festival In the ancient museum city of Berat, from 20 to 25 September, the national folk festival will take place. For a whole week in this museum city, the melodies of songs, dances and instrumental pieces of our talented people will resound in all their splendor. This festival will feature folk performers from 36 districts of our country, as well as from the nearby and far diaspora, for example from Macedonia and Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Turkey, Switzerland, Ukraine, Australia, Greece, all the way to the Albanians of America. Hundreds of singers, rhapsodes, dancers as well as folk instrumentalists from all four corners of the homeland and the diaspora have prepared with the utmost seriousness to bring to this festival the richness and diversity of our folk art, an art forged over centuries, an art that has accompanied the Albanian throughout the whole course of his history. This art was not born in modern salons but among mountains and highlands, valleys and fields; for it blood was shed for the defense of the homeland and for playing freely on its own lands. Our people have always valued courage Ukraine, Australia, Greece, all the way to the Albanians of America. Hundreds of singers, rhapsodes, dancers as well as folk instrumentalists from all four corners of the homeland and the diaspora have prepared with the utmost seriousness to bring to this festival the richness and diversity of our folk art, an art forged over centuries, an art that has accompanied the Albanian throughout the whole course of his history. This art was not born in modern salons but among mountains and highlands, valleys and fields; for it blood was shed for the defense of the homeland and for playing freely on its own lands. Our people have always valued courage (Continues on page 2)

Yesterday at the Constitutional Court PHOTO: PETRIT OMERI

The Association of Lawyers of Albania, in its appeal to the most important bodies of the country, emphasizes that, given the recent events that point to a real danger of violating the law by the neo-communist left. The left is making the best possible use of Mr. Zef Brozi’s delirious hobby, which he wants to be involved in at all times: on the front pages of newspapers, in his post, at the President’s, the Prime Minister’s, the Prosecutor General’s and beyond the borders of Albania, so that their socialist leader, Fatos Nano, is not judged by the law, but that this situation is exploited in order to come out as a convicted person at large. This is, on the whole, a movement being exploited at this moment and is fighting with all its arsenal to violate the legislative, executive and judicial branches. Mr. Brozi speaks of violations of independence by the executive and at the same time accuses the Ministry of Justice. But prosecution by legal means is a matter of the executive’s independence. This has been the practice in our country of late, yet it still is not clearly being proved against these subjectivist decisions, or that decisions were disrupted with a high prerogative. The Association of Lawyers of Albania appeals to everyone that the law must remain untouched by politics and by anyone, otherwise it becomes a punisher of innocent people. ATSH

CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA, COMPOSED OF: Rustem Gjata President of the Constitutional Court Hilmi Dakli Member Manol Konomi Member Zija Vuci Member Franç Jakova Member Metush Saraj Member Alfred Karamuço Member With secretary Drita Fillo, on 18.09.1995 and 19.09.1995, the court examined in an open session case No. 15 Act, concerning. Applicants: 1. The Council of Ministers represented by the Minister of Justice, Hektor Frasheri. 2. Fatos Nano, represented by lawyer Perparim Sanxhaku. Subject: Declaring unconstitutional the meeting of the Plenum of the Court of Cassation and its examination of requests for legal protection in criminal matters. The Constitutional Court, after hearing the report on the case Notes: On 26 July 1995, based on the Code of Criminal Procedure approved by Law No. 6069 of 25.12.1979 (which was in force until 31 July 1995), the Plenum of the Court of Cassation met to examine three requests for legal protection in criminal matters. While it examined and accepted one of the requests, for the other two, namely the one concerning the criminal case against the convicted Fatos Nano and the one concerning the convicted B.K., for different reasons it did not examine them, deciding to consider them in September 1995. This decision of the Plenum of the Court of Cassation of 26 July 1995 to examine the cases in September is unlawful and unconstitutional. With Law No. 9705 of 21.03.1995 the People's Assembly approved the new Code of Criminal Procedure, which was promulgated by the President of the Republic by decree No. 1059 of 05.04.1995 and entered into force on 1 August 1995. The new Code of Criminal Procedure, unlike the previous Code, does not provide for the request for legal protection as an extraordinary remedy within the exclusive competence of the President of the Court of Cassation and the Prosecutor General, nor does it provide for the Plenum of the Court of Cassation as the highest judicial instance in criminal matters. The new Code contains no transitional provisions regarding criminal cases that were under investigation or trial at the time of its entry into force. In Article 5 of Law No. 7917 of 26.07.1995, the new Code of Criminal Procedure shall apply. With Law No. 7977 of 26.07.1995, which entered into force on 1 August 1995, the new Code of Criminal Procedure, in Article 525, repealed paragraph I of the second part: “For criminal cases which, at the time of entry into force of this Code, are in the stage of investigation or trial at first instance and on appeal, the provisions of the previous Code of Criminal Procedure shall apply, but not later than 5 November 1995.” It is the known and accepted principle that, unlike substantive criminal law, where the principle of the new law is applied and it has no retroactive force except in cases where it is in favor of the accused, in criminal procedural law the principle applies according to which the new law also has effect on procedural relations arising before its entry into force, for cases under investigation or trial, except where the law itself has expressly provided otherwise. Also from the content of Law No. 7977 of 26.07.1995 it clearly follows the application of the aforementioned principle of the retroactive effect of criminal procedural law as well as the legislator’s will regarding the abolition of the Plenum of the Court of Cassation in criminal matters and of the institution of the request for legal protection. On 1 August 1994 the Constitutional Court in its decision No. 3 of 14.02.1994. Under these conditions the Plenum was not legitimized to continue deciding on cases after 31 July 1995, nor to assess the legality of extraordinary remedies for indictment and prosecution in contradiction with the Code of Criminal Procedure and Law No. 7917 of 26.07.1995. In this way the constitutional provisions were violated, specifically: Article 5 of Law No. 7491 of 29.04.1991 “On the main constitutional provisions”, in the last paragraph of which it is sanctioned that: “Judicial power is exercised by the courts, which are independent and guided by the law,” as well as Article 5 of Law No. 7561 of 29.04.1992 “On certain amendments and additions to Law No. 7491 of 29.04.1991 ‘On the provisions (Continues on page 2)

BBC Radio, 18.5.1995 (7:30 p.m.) All former communist countries have at certain times examined the question of what to do with their former communists, but there are few countries that have banned membership and participation in political life. For people known or thought to have collaborated with the former secret police, there have been cases in some countries of laws concerning communists, who held high positions or were collaborators of the former public offices or the opposition. The law was supposed to remain in force until next year, but now there is talk of extending it until the year 2000. When it was adopted in 1991, the deputies left the Czechoslovak federal parliament, as it was then. Those who had been placed on the secret police files list were invited to step down. Some refused to leave, and this was followed by a sometimes bitter legal battle over their removal. The same law applied in Bulgaria and Slovakia, but after independence, by the end of 1992, it was no longer used. Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar has repeatedly said that he considers the files to be inaccurate notes from what happened under communism. Latvia is one of the few other countries that have dismissed deputies because of accusations that they collaborated with the Soviet KGB, but even there membership in communist parties is not considered a crime. Most countries have some kind of screening process for finding and pursuing people involved in crimes committed during the communist regime. In Poland there have been a number of trials, for example, dealing with individual crimes including charges of murder. It seems, however, that there is not much appetite for a full vetting of ministry officials or political figures. Hungary has a law that allows the screening of former secret police informers, who may be asked to resign from high positions, but they are unlikely to face other measures. In Bulgaria, at one stage, hundreds of people were removed from academic posts, simply because they had once been members of the committees of the old Bulgarian communist party. In Romania, the opposition called for a vetting law, but there is no sign that the government will pass one. Therefore, there is a tendency for vetting to be carried out unofficially in the private sector. For example, in an anti-regime newspaper, whose author is unnamed, such as Romania Libera, several journalists were dismissed after it was learned that they had once been recruited by the former Romanian secret police, the Securitate. It can be said that in this region there is no identifiable common model for the vetting process. But right-wing parties seem to have more desire to remove former communists than left-wing parties.

They will get to know the Albanian investment environment and establish bilateral contacts with Albanian counterparts Relations with Austria too seem to be increasingly characterized by a strengthening trend, thus following the political relations, about which no one has any doubt that they are very good. This goal was also served by the meeting organized in the premises of the “Europa Park” hotel by the Organization for International Relations of the Vienna center and by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Albania. Around 16 Austrian businesspeople, representatives of companies whose activity spans the processing of agricultural products and metallurgy, pharmaceuticals, publishing, tourism, etc., are in Tirana to become acquainted with the Albanian investment environment and to make bilateral contacts with their Albanian counterparts. At yesterday’s plenary session of the three-day meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Dylber Vrioni, President of the Organization for International Relations based in Vienna Vilhelm Hendrix, Minister of Industry, Transport and Trade Suzana Panariti, General Governor of the Bank of Albania Kristaq Luniku, etc., were also present. In his opening speech, Arben Shehi, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, presented the meeting as the best example of bilateral cooperation between state and private structures, wishing that businesspeople become missionaries of the prosperity of peoples. Mr. Vrioni gave an overview of the economic reforms undertaken by the government, privatization as the basic element in transforming the planned economy into a market economy, its stages which include land privatization, privatization of trade units, privatization of small and medium-sized enterprises, and also spoke about the current stages of privatization. Mr. Vrioni also spoke about the results of this comprehensive reform, which led to macroeconomic stabilization, GDP growth, control of inflation, control of the budget deficit, etc. Mr. Vrioni’s presentation was intended to convey to the Austrian businessmen the message that Albania is now a suitable country for foreign investment and profit. Yesterday the invited guest said, Mr. Vrioni, that ways of concrete cooperation will be found. Ms. Suzana Panariti presented to the Austrians and the other attendees the situation of foreign investments in the country and the structure, the number of private entities operating, also divided by sectors. Taking into account that up to 1993 about 150 foreign companies were operating, representing a total capital of 150 million dollars, whereas currently about 400 companies are operating and more than half of the invested capital is 250 million dollars, the growth rate of foreign investment is clearly evident. Albania has the conditions to welcome foreign investors; it also has priorities, said Ms. Panariti. Mr. Luniku informed the participants about monetary policy, the budget deficit, inflation, the exchange system, the state of the banking system in the country, etc. The President of the Vienna-based Organization for International Relations, Vilhelm Hendrix, explained to those present the aims of organizing this meeting. At the end, the extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassador of Austria to Albania, Kurt Shpalinger, also greeted them. SHPETIM LUKU

The Association of Journalists of Albania is noting with concern that the influence of the past on the current activities of public networks is still strong and has consequences for the developments of post-communist society. A legal draft is being prepared for the opening of the files of people in politics and of former suitable people and journalists, some of whom, in many cases, led public political campaigns in Albania with obvious amorality. Taking as a starting point the biographies published of some women who today lead the Albanian press, the Association of Journalists of Albania notes that, just as a politician implicated with the dictatorship must be exposed by political life, so too must the right to be a public person be proven, whereas with a criminalized past, some manage to be praised even with the victims of their deeds. The Association of Journalists today announces its initiative to support an addition to this draft law, which must necessarily also include journalists, especially those working in state information media, Radio Television, ATSH, the central newspapers of the government and the opposition, the independent newspapers and correspondents of the foreign press. CHAIRMAN YLLI RAKIPI