The People’s Assembly continued its work yesterday morning at 9:00. At this sitting, detailed consideration and approval began of the draft laws concerning the improvement of the economic mechanism. During the session, deputies asked many questions, made suggestions, and held discussions in a democratic spirit. The proceedings began with the draft law “On Enterprises,” the principal document in this field. After its approval in principle, concrete suggestions and observations were made article by article. The deputies brought to the Assembly the opinions and proposals of their constituents, as well as those made in the standing committees of the People’s Assembly. The debate focused especially on Article 2 of this draft law. Deputy Themie Thomai said that, during the discussion of the draft law in the Foreign Affairs Committee, the question had been raised: “Why should the task of reducing costs be planned centrally for an enterprise?” There was considerable debate in the Assembly on this matter. Arguments were put forward in support of amending this article, because under the new economic mechanism the enterprise itself becomes genuinely interested in reducing costs as much as possible; therefore, there is no reason for this indicator to be imposed from above. Guided by this economic reasoning, the deputies unanimously approved that, in its relations with the state, the enterprise should be accountable for centralized net income and for its obligation to the budget from its income, but not for the cost-reduction plan, as had been proposed in the draft law. As for exports, [enterprises] should benefit from a share of the foreign currency. Following the explanations given by the chairman of the State Planning Committee, Niko Gjyzari, it was decided that the draft law on this issue would not be amended, but the Council of Ministers was tasked with studying and resolving the matter through the relevant decisions. Likewise, in order for enterprises to exercise more fully their authority to use their foreign currency for import needs during the year, a suggestion by several deputies was approved: this right should be exercised by the enterprise whenever it considers appropriate. This was considered necessary because the enterprise’s interests may not coincide in time with those of the department, the bank, or the economy as a whole. Regarding Article 8, a suggestion by several deputies was approved that the state’s obligation to arrange employment for workers when enterprises operating at a loss cease their activities should also cover their administrative employees. The Assembly also approved other partial amendments to several articles for the sake of clarification. After these discussions, the draft law was approved in its entirety, unanimously. Concrete and productive debates were also held on improving the draft law “On Prices and Tariffs.” Deputy Gjergji Velo suggested that Article 7 of this draft law reflect the solution set out in the Council of Ministers’ report, namely that [they] be treated with the same economic instruments of coo- ...centrally law. There were also lively discussions on Article 3. Deputy Stefan Papagjoni, taking as his starting point the enterprise’s rights and duties relating to self-financing, raised the need for a fairer distribution of foreign-currency income across economic sectors, so that all enterprises contributing to its realization

At the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of Albania, William H. Drejper, UN Under-Secretary-General and Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), arrived for a visit to our country. At the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of Albania, Nations Development Programme (UNDP), arrived for a visit to our country. At Rinas Airport he was welcomed by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Muhamet Kapllani and other comrades. Also present was the Permanent Representative of the People’s Socialist Republic of Albania to the UN, Bashkim Pitarka. In Tirana, W. H. Drejper and the personalities accompanying him visited the National Gallery of Figurative Arts, where they became acquainted firsthand with the rich and varied creative work of our artists. Last night, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Socialist Republic of Albania Muhamet Kapllani hosted an official dinner at Hotel “Dajti” in honor of Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and those accompanying him. Those attending included Minister of Education Skënder Gjinushi, Chairman of the Committee for Science and Technology Ajet Ylli, and other comrades. (ATSH)

Yesterday afternoon, the chairman of the Committee for Science and Technology, Ajet Ylli, [text unclear: “now from the UNDP for our country ... have been used for raising the level”] ... Yesterday afternoon, the [text unclear: “now from the UNDP for our country ... have been used for raising the level”] welcomed (UNDP), William H. Drejper, and those accompanying him. At the meeting, views were exchanged on the progress of projects completed and currently under way with the contributions made to date by UNDP, and on preparations for drawing up the cooperation programme between our country and UNDP for the next cycle. The contributions allocated so far ... ... have been used to raise standards and make improvements in higher education, establish the computer network and develop telecommunications, as well as to increase the level of contemporary scientific research and applications in the fields of automation and the use of laser-beam techniques, etc. They also discussed further expansion of our country’s cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in other fields, such as the economy, health, culture, etc. (ATSH)

Our legislation at every level has followed the course of society’s development and responded to the demands of the times.

— Report presented on behalf of the Council of Ministers by Comrade Manush Myftiu, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers — Comrades, fellow deputies! The 9th and 10th Plenums of the Party’s Central Committee mark the beginning of a new stage, in which the task of further deepening democracy has been placed on the agenda, as a natural path followed by the development of our society and continuing to be followed by it. Along our path, we have encountered many difficulties and obstacles, but we have carried out profound transformations and achieved major objectives in the political, economic, and social spheres. The problems and tasks raised from time to time, as well as our achievements, have regularly found their legal expression. Taken as a whole, it is progressive, modern legislation, and on its basis legal relations are regulated in the fields of work and family, in civil and criminal matters, and in other fields. An essential characteristic of our laws is that they not only formally proclaim the rights of the collective and of citizens, but also ensure the conditions for putting them into practice. The protection and observance of legality and human rights have always been at the center of the work of our Party’s organs of power. Our laws have deepened and express the interests of the people. However, it is an ongoing duty to increase attention to the implementation of people’s rights and interests, to their rights. In this respect, the relationship between the state, society, and the individual must reflect the country’s stage of material, cultural, and social development, as well as the processes taking place in our society, the transformations achieved and accomplishments in every field, and the need to provide not only material but also legal conditions for protecting and giving the fullest possible expression to the personality of our people. An advanced socialist society must also be matched by a citizen who is emancipated to a higher degree. Indeed, there is a reciprocal relationship here. This is a prerequisite for society’s uninterrupted development, which in turn stimulates the broadening and deepening of democracy. We have always sought, and will always seek, to perfect socialist society in general and legislation in every sphere of relations in particular. At the present stage, our Party is engaged in intensive activity to strengthen the economy and increase production, which are of primary importance for society’s progress. However, all progress presupposes the rapid improvement of the state system. It is precisely for this reason that the Party’s 9th Plenum of the Central Committee sets as an urgent task the introduction of changes in the field of legislation, whose main purpose is to deepen further the democratization of every aspect of the country’s life. These changes concern the improvement and democratization of criminal legislation, as well as necessary organizational measures, such as the establishment of the Ministry of Justice, the bar association, etc. In response to these tasks, the Council of Ministers took measures to draft bills, which were put up for discussion in several districts of the country. In this instance, we have the measures adopted by the 10th Plenum of the Central Committee as the first comprehensive [step], and for consideration and approval by the People’s Assem- ...bly. Drawing on several years of experience in the struggle to protect the socialist social order and the rights and freedoms of citizens, the Council of Ministers has prepared the draft law “On Certain Amendments to the Criminal Code,” which addresses the following issues: - Establishment of the institution of rehabilitation, or removal of the sentence. Our society has an interest in people who were convicted of criminal offenses in the past being re-educated and becoming useful to it. The institution of rehabilitation is consistent with our lofty humanist principles, according to which people can be corrected. Ultimately, the purpose of criminal punishment is to educate the offender. The educational work that society carries out with convicted persons has the same aim. The experience of our country shows that society’s educational role has been highly effective, and most people who have served their sentences have reformed, work, and behave well in society. In this way, social rehabilitation has been achieved in practice. However, the Criminal Code currently in force does not provide for legal rehabilitation for those who have committed criminal offenses. To bring social rehabilitation into line with legal rehabilitation, it is proposed that the institution of rehabilitation be introduced into the Criminal Code, in both statutory and judicial forms. Statutory rehabilitation means removal of the sentence by the law itself, automatically, while judicial rehabilitation is granted in each case by a court, according to the relevant periods of time elapsed, provided that the convicted person has committed no other criminal offense. Judicial rehabilitation is the removal of the sentence by the courts on the basis of an application by the convicted person and the social organization. This institution applies— ...to persons sentenced to imprisonment for more than 5 years, with the required period after serving the sentence graduated according to its length, provided that during this period these persons have committed no other criminal offense and demonstrate through their conduct that they abide by society’s rules. The introduction of the institution of rehabilitation into the Criminal Code, dictated by the democratic and humane nature of our socialist order, is an important measure for the further improvement and democratization of our legislation. Under it, persons who have been rehabilitated both legally and in fact will fully enjoy, like all other citizens, the rights guaranteed to them by the Constitution and the laws in force. - In connection with the institution of rehabilitation, the draft law also provides for the institution of the statute of limitations on criminal prosecution and on the enforcement of sentences. This means the extinguishment or termination of prosecution for a criminal offense, or of the enforcement of a sentence, because the statutory time limits have elapsed—not only for criminal misdemeanors, as is the case today, but also for crimes. By establishing a statute of limitations, it is recognized that the offender no longer poses a social danger and that there is no point in punishing them. This is a logical and humane solution. The statute of limitations is provided for within specified time limits, according to the degree of social danger posed by the criminal offense, ranging from 5 to 20 years. These periods are doubled if the offender evades prosecution, but in no case may they exceed 25 years. For crimes against the state, [if they] exceed the 25-year period, there will be no statute of limitations on prosecution—