Decriminalization: current situation, issues, and expectations

Abstract

In the history of post-communist Albania, there are cases of politicians with unclear records being promoted to senior leadership positions. In a country with a limited democratic tradition, coming from an era of iron dictatorship with a dominating principle of career making based on party loyalty, unconditional service to the leader and incrimination as a recruitment quality, representation issues during the phases of transitioning to a functional democracy were anticipated....The Albanian Assembly approved in December of 2015 the Law No. 138/2015 “On ensuring the integrity of persons elected, appointed, or holding public functions”, also known as the decriminalization law. The Albanian law is a unique model in the continent and is related to the political context of the 2011-2015 period. This report analyzes representation issues, focusing mainly on decriminalization cases and the behavior of parties, their constituents, and constitutional and legal institutions toward these representation issues. The report feeds on and includes detailed data from the legislation, based on developments within and outside political parties, names and the most relevant cases, and the stocktaking of the implementation of the decriminalization process, a few two years after entry into force of the law