Reporting to the Parliament of independent institutions postponed indefinitely

Parliament resumed work at the end of May after a two-month vacuum due to the electoral campaign, keeping in suspense the procedure of annual reports of independent institutions and those established by law, a legal procedure that was supposed to be completed within this legislature.

Even after the resumption of the Assembly's work, this process has not been included in the 3-week work calendar, while the current legislature's work is expected to conclude on July 8.

The Chair of the Laws Committee, Klotilda Bushka, informed the committee that there was a provisional draft calendar for the reports and that the dates would be revised depending on the preparation of the relevant reports and the public consultation.

The reports of independent institutions were filed in the Parliament during March-April and on June 2 were posted on the public consultation platform, where they will await comments from civil society organizations until June 16.

A tight timeframe remains available for the entire process, which includes reporting to committees, reporting and discussions in plenary, and the adoption of parliamentary resolutions with 'homework' for their work for 2025.

Human rights organizations that monitor the work of the Assembly consider this delay a negligence of the Assembly to exercise its oversight role in a timely manner, risking that this important process will turn into a purely formal one.

Erida Skëndej, director of the Albanian Helsinki Committee, told BIRN that it would not make sense to postpone the process for the new legislature that starts in September, as the recommendations left for institutions in parliamentary resolutions are valid for 2025.

"If these reports are carried over to the new legislature, their consideration by Parliament takes on a formal character, parliamentary control is weakened, and likewise, these resolutions remain formal for the independent institutions themselves, as they do not have sufficient time to implement them," said Skëndaj.

According to her, Parliament should have managed the process of reviewing the reports of independent institutions earlier, taking into account the May 11 elections.

Postponing the process also violates the Assembly's Rules of Procedure, which stipulate its completion no later than June.

The reporting of independent justice institutions is awaited with interest. Often, the heads of these institutions have been met with criticism in the Assembly by opposition or majority MPs.

A year ago, the head of the Special Prosecution Office, Altin Dumani, faced 100 questions in a plenary session, mainly from opposition MPs, who attacked him as politically biased and demanded accountability for specific investigative issues.

The Assembly suspended its work in mid-March, after MPs became involved in the electoral campaign of political parties.

According to the Constitution, this legislature cannot review and adopt new laws in the 60-day timeframe before the new parliament is constituted, so its work is limited until early July./BIRN