The new Penal Code: An indicator of the consolidation of the rule of law Enters into force on 1 June 1995 News report At yesterday’s proceedings of the People’s Assembly on the approval, article by article and as a whole, of the Draft Penal Code, consensus largely prevailed. During the morning and afternoon plenary sessions, the deputies discussed and approved more than 80 articles of the draft, relating mainly to abuse of office, unlawful acquisition of benefits, state secrets, criminal offences against the administration of justice, criminal offences affecting free elections and the democratic electoral system, offences committed by armed gangs, war crimes and crimes against humanity, etc. At the proposal of the Council of Ministers, after being discussed and approved by parliament by consensus, four articles concerning the fight against corruption were also included in the draft Code. These anti-corruption articles included in the Penal Code provide for fines or imprisonment for the criminal offences of unlawfully obtaining benefits, misusing contributions provided by the state, violating the equality of participants in tenders or public auctions, etc. During the afternoon plenary session, there was extensive discussion and debate concerning Article 68 of this draft Code, which deals with the statute of limitations for crimes. After discussions, debates and numerous proposals lasting more than two hours, it was decided by consensus that the final version would remain The full and successful approval of the New Penal Code, this very important document of the rule-of-law state, is the clearest expression of the consolidation and deepening of democracy in Albania. This new Code, with a profoundly democratic structure and content that conforms to all international legal standards, makes it possible for all the structures of the new democratic state to sever, once and for all, their ties with the articles of the criminal codes drafted and implemented by the communist regime in Albania. Among other things, the approval of this new Penal Code by the Albanian parliament constitutes an important step towards Albania’s integration into European and international organisations. Thus, with the approval of the new Penal Code, we express our commitment to being an integral part of the civilised Western nations and countries. The consensus reached on more than 90 percent of the articles of this Code is highly significant evidence that its articles are free of any kind of politicisation or partisan character. The approval of this Code showed that consensus can be found whenever the parties have the goodwill to achieve it and when the opposition leaders’ careerist ambitions do not get in the way. With the approval of this Code, the DP fulfilled another major promise it had made to its electorate and to all Albanians; it thus demonstrated, and will continue to demonstrate, that it is consistent in building and operating a state in which the law reigns supreme.

. The President of the Republic, Sali Berisha, also took part. In the photograph: From left to right: Polish President Lech Walesa, Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel, and President Berisha. The carefully preserved museum grounds, from the entrance gate bearing the cynical inscription “Work sets you free” to the crematoria, the ovens in which around 4 million lives were extinguished—children, women, men and elderly people from almost all the peoples of Europe—evoked in everyone the experience of that crime without parallel in history. At the wall of death, a wreath on behalf of all the participating delegations was laid by Polish President Les Valesa. From Auschwitz, the participants went to the Birkenau camp, a few kilometres farther on. On the station platform, where 50-odd years ago trains brought millions of victims one after another, the international anti-fascist monument had been erected to perpetuate their memory. In addition to the delegations invited to the ceremony, thousands of people from various countries around the world were present, along with hundreds of journalists and television reporters. After the prayer ceremony for the souls of the fallen, conducted in various languages, commemorative messages were delivered by the chairman of the Auschwitz International Committee, Baron Koldstajn; Rinja, former prisoner No. 31 of the camp; Nobel Peace Prize winner and head of the American delegation, the well-known former camp prisoner Huajzel; the President of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, Uajs; and Polish President Valesa. Afterwards, President Berisha and the heads of the other delegations laid wreaths beside the memorial and signed the visitors’ book. Meanwhile, a former prisoner continuously read into a microphone the names of the unfortunate victims of this camp, among them, movingly, the names Dume, Besa, Ilir and Mara. The ceremony was accompanied by continuous sirens and candles lit everywhere. At midnight, the commemorative ceremonies marking the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp concluded in the city. Yesterday evening, at around 19:00, after the activities in Poland, Auschwitz-Birkenau, had concluded, President Berisha returned to the country. Prime Minister Meksi, Deputy Prime Minister Shehi, the Polish ambassador in Tirana, ministers, members of parliament, and others had come to meet him at Rinas Airport.

Question: What do you single out as a unique legal value in the newly approved Penal Code? Answer: What I consider valuable from a technical-legal perspective is: a. The complete alignment of the criminalization of an offence with the logic of the organization and functioning of the economic order we are building in Albania. It marks a new era in our legislation. The Chairman of the PD Parliamentary Group, Mr Ali Spahia, asks: What is your assessment of the new Penal Code that has just been approved? He replies: This code marks a new era in our legislation. It embodies the new concepts of justice in a democratic order that differs fundamentally from the communist dictatorship from which our people escaped, having experienced it firsthand. Giving concrete form to the Law on Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms Interview with Mr Arben Meçe, Secretary of the Law Committee of the People’s Assembly Question: What do you single out as a unique legal value in the newly approved Penal Code? Answer: What I consider valuable from a technical-legal perspective is: a. The complete alignment of the criminalization of an offence with the logic of the organization and functioning of the economic order we are building in Albania. b. The tendency and effort to harmonize our legislation with European legislation—French, Italian and German—and, in quite a few cases, common provisions have been included in this code. c. The repeal of the old code, with its military-political orientation, which constituted a serious obstacle to the Albanian justice system. d. The institutionalization of tradition, morality and national identity, interests that had been suppressed by communist legislation. e. The legislative technique used is also worth mentioning as a modern technique. Question: Were there perfidious expressions of the transition of Albanian society in this code? Answer: Codes in democratic states are built from specific laws and have an essential distinction, while their organization and application advance the politics of the leaders of the moment; they are not for politics, and their purpose is to provide a secure guarantee. It is to the credit of the committee that voted on the new Penal Code that, in this respect, it acted with great care in presenting these provisions and, to be truthful, I must say that they won broad cross-party consensus. I therefore also believe that they will have a long life. The basic provisions on which this code rests are, without hesitation, those of Law No. 7692, “On Human Rights and Freedoms.” In fact, this code is the materialization—the concrete realization in legal reality—of human rights and freedoms, constitutional provisions that the opposition understood so well when they were adopted. They are the very provisions to which the opposition, together with us, has often referred during discussions. I think, and would like, through this opportunity, to thank the committee that drafted this fundamental document of Albanian democracy. In particular, I wish to thank those in the Assembly with high professional competence who contributed to defending the provisions of this code: the gentlemen Vlladimir Kastiç, Arben Rakipi and Haredin Puga. with the definition of crimes. After discussions, debates and numerous proposals that lasted more than two hours, a consensus was reached that the version presented in the draft should remain unchanged. Articles 74/a and 74/b were also the subject of discussion and various proposals; in the end, a majority voted to retain the proposal submitted by the Law Committee. It was voted that the Penal Code would enter into force on 1 June 1995, since, before it can take effect, several other laws functionally related to it must necessarily also be approved. Finally, this Penal Code was approved, both in its entirety and by an absolute majority of votes. QUESTION: Mr Sham ata, as chairman of the Law Committee, what can you tell us in general terms about the procedures you followed while reviewing the draft new Penal Code? ANSWER: You asked what procedure was generally followed? We can say that it was quite an unusual procedure, bearing in mind that this was a very important draft, especially given how evident the gaps in this legislation had been. Perhaps for the first time, the procedure for reviewing the draft Penal Code in parliament and in committees was conducted over many sessions. We adopted a procedure whereby all committees, without exception, would review the draft code and send all their comments and proposals for specific amendments to the Law Committee. In addition to reviewing the code, that committee would then convey its opinion on the relevant amendments. This made the review of the Penal Code during the Assembly’s plenary sessions highly substantive. In most cases, the comments were considered valid and were incorporated into the code. The committee worked through an open procedure, inviting all specialized legal and non-legal bodies, both inside and outside the country, to give their views on the set of amendments to the code that fell within their respective areas. The committee’s review of the draft code took nearly two months and was intensive and exhausting, but it gave us the satisfaction of carrying a great responsibility, always mindful of the importance of this Penal Code for Albanian society. It should be emphasized that, generally, consensus prevailed during the committee discussions; differences in the approval process were negligible and caused no problems. QUESTION: What is your general approved? ANSWER: This question is easy for me to answer, because my assessment of this code coincides with the generally positive view of the members of the Assembly: that this code is very good and will stand the test of time, because it meets the contemporary standards of democratic states with long-standing traditions. It has very solid legal merits and will be acceptable to Albanian democratic society for a long time. QUESTION: Has the absence of a fundamental law, such as a Constitution, created obstacles to drafting and reviewing it in committee? ANSWER: I believe that Albania definitely needs a Constitution. However, the drafting of the Penal Code—which is now a Penal Code—has all the necessary constitutional basis and the constitutional law derived from the package of constitutional laws and from the law on the rights and freedoms of the individual, which is comprehensive and meets contemporary standards. The general part of the code, which provides the basis for protecting fundamental rights, is fully in keeping with the fundamental principles for the protection of human rights and freedoms set out in the international charters of Helsinki, etc. Prepared by: MENTOR SHEHU NDRIK GJINI

Yesterday morning, field operations began for the joint exercise “Sarex-’95” involving Albania and the U.S. Sixth Fleet. The previous day’s programme included theoretical consultations and practical field movements for search and evacuation, which constituted the preparation for today, the most intensive day of the operation. The commander of the Albanian forces, brigade commander Lieutenant Colonel Sinan Shala, said: “With today’s operations, we aim to coordinate and cooperate with NATO forces in the field.” He continued: “We have done a great deal of preparatory work and are fully ready to continue the operation.” “Things are going very well, despite the fact that there are four teams linking up,” Captain Armstrong, the head of [cut off] told ATSH. (Continued on page 2)

Interview with the U.S. military attaché in our country, Colonel Buçi Question: Colonel, in an interview given to the Albanian press last year, you said that “we consider the Albanian Army a partner, not a client.” How do you explain this assessment? Answer: Yes, we consider Albania and its Army partners, not clients. These two things differ not only in meaning but also emotionally. To consider a state and an army a client means treating it like a child under its parent’s control. And, moreover, it means doing nothing but selling or buying goods or ideas from it. Albania is a sovereign and free country. It is building its own governing state and strengthening democracy. It is strengthening its economy and improving the wellbeing of all Albanians. The United States regards all sovereign and democratic countries as equal partners. What matters most in this regard for Albanians and their army is the pride of this people, which is held in high esteem by the United States: they safeguard freedom, independence, democracy and sovereignty without infringing on other people the rights so important to a democratic country. The United States’ interest in Albania and its Army is that they grow stronger, become more consolidated, and develop economically and militarily so as to keep their territorial borders intact. From this perspective, there are points in common between the two countries. All these shared interests meet the conditions for being partners. That is why, increasingly and at all times, we are cooperating in every field as partners. Question: Mr Buçi, do you see… (Continued on page 2)

STATE AUDIT SERVICE (Page 2)

(Page 2)

MARK NDOJA (Page 6)

With the chairman of the People’s Assembly’s Committee on Laws, Mr. Halit Shamata QUESTION: Mr. Shamata, how