TIRANA, May 19 – Justice reform entered a phase of concrete results for citizens. Minister of Justice Toni Gogu made the statement during the 10th anniversary of the reform.
He said institutions now focus on stronger procedural guarantees, higher efficiency in the justice system, and better access to justice for citizens. He linked these priorities to Albania’s European Union integration process and said citizens cannot trust a system that does not respond in time.
Meanwhile, he reported that around 70 institutions and 190 experts worked on the integration process over the last 18 months. He added that authorities sent more than 8,000 pages of documentation to the European Commission for the IBAR report. The IBAR process moved from technical groups to ambassadors of European Union member states and now receives institutional support.
At the same time, Gogu reported a rise in trust in the justice system from 26 percent to 53 percent. He also said positive perception of the reform increased from 34 percent to 56 percent, while negative perception fell from 38 percent to 17 percent.
However, he said challenges remain, especially the large number of pending cases and high financial costs for citizens. Ministry data show more than 137,101 pending cases, although he said the trend has started to decline.
Meanwhile, he pointed to the Supreme Court as a success example. The court reduced backlog by 60 percent over five years and by 24 percent in the last year. He added that institutions are increasing staff capacity and expanding legal support and infrastructure, including plans for a new Court of Appeal building in Tirana.
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