The friendly visit concluded with President Zacaj sharing the Constitutional Court’s 2023 Annual Report with Carlson, as well as an emblem of the country to be displayed in ROLI’s offices to commemorate our ongoing partnership endeavoring to strengthen the rule of law. The remaining moments of the meeting were spent catching up among old friends and capturing a few photos to memorialize the meeting.
The Albanian Constitutional Court, established in 1992, plays a pivotal role in safeguarding the principles of democracy, rule of law, and human rights within in that country. Rooted in the country's transition from communist rule to democracy, the court was formed as part of the constitutional framework aimed at ensuring checks and balances within the government. The court serves as the final arbiter in matters concerning the constitutionality of laws, acts, and governmental decisions. The court remains a crucial institution in upholding Albania's democratic principles and ensuring the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms for its citizens.
The ABA’s initiated its program in Albania in 1991 and placed its first rule of law liaison in Tirana in 1992. From 1998 until 2001, the ABA also conducted a criminal law reform program in Albania. The major projects on which the ABA worked include substantial assistance in support of the drafting of a new, democratic constitution, adopted through a popular referendum in 1998; promotion of judicial independence by supporting the creation of the Albanian Magistrates School, supporting the work of the Association of Albanian Judges, and facilitating the establishment of the National Judicial Conference; and substantial support of legal profession legal education and reform by providing expertise to the Chamber of Advocates, increasing public awareness through the annual National Day of Justice, and providing technical assistance to the Tirana Law Faculty. We also helped set up the first national ombudsman office in Albania.
In addition, the Balkans Regional Rule of Law Network (BRRLN) program was a three-year regional program implemented by ABA ROLI with the support from the United States Agency for International Development. From 2013-16, ABA ROLI built sustainable regional partnerships and networks of professional associations and civil society organizations through virtual and in-person meetings to promote rule of law reforms. The underlying goal of this program was to strengthen defense advocacy by bringing lawyers and civil society together across the region and across sectors to share best practices, tools and knowledge and to work on common issues that they identified as undermining the rule of law.
Working together on common challenges served to empower individuals and mediated political and ethnic differences that have historically divided the region. From the start of the implementation, the BRRLN program complemented ABA ROLI’s bilateral programs in the region.
Through ABA ROLI’s current Financial Action Task Force (FATF) program, funded by the US Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, ABA ROLI works to provide anti-money laundering peer-to-peer workshops, trainings, and support in Albania and the region to financial intelligence units (FIUs) and other stakeholders.
