On September 20, 2017, the Albanian Helsinki Committee (AHC) monitored the special meeting of the Higher Education Institutions (HEI) for the selection of candidates for members of the High Judicial Council (HJC) and the High Prosecutorial Council (HPC).

During the monitoring, we found that representatives from the HEI and the School of Magistrates respected article 48 onwards and article 146 onwards of Law no. 115/2016 “On the governing bodies of the justice system,” which talks about the procedure for convening the meeting, the necessary quorum, the voting and vote-counting process, as well as the announcement of results for candidates for the HJC and HPC from among lecturers.

All opportunities and conditions were created for the media, international bodies and domestic civil society organizations (in this case, AHC) to observe and monitor the entire legal procedure that was pursued.

It is also worth mentioning that HEI representatives present in the meeting were proactive during the hearing process for every candidate, with questions to highlight the moral integrity of candidates stood out.

However, in spite of the above, it was striking that the number of candidates proposed by the HEI and who presented their platforms in front of the Special Meeting was very low compared to the number envisaged by articles 36 and 46 of this law. 

AHC is of the opinion that in order to enable a higher level of competitiveness among candidates for members of the HJC and HPC representing the teaching corps in the Faculties of Justice and the School of Magistrates, it is necessary to revise the relevant provisions of law 115/2016  that envisage the quotas and formula for the selection of these candidates in the future.