Monitoring, sensitizing and educational activities regarding 

the respect of human rights in the judicial system

May-December 2003

In the framework of its monitoring, reacting and sensitizing mission, from May to December 2003, AHC organized many activities concerning the judicial system and the Bailiff’s Office. Namely, the Committee’s activity was focused on the execution of penal decisions and encouragement of collaboration among responsible State bodies in this field as important features for improving and respecting human rights and preventing the abusive and corruptive cases in the judicial system.

The activities’ aims were the following:

a)      Improving the legislation regarding the execution of penal decisions and the functioning of Attorney’s Office, Courts and Bailiff’s Office, as well as the collaboration among them.

b)      Proposing necessary improvements on the laws in this field.

c)      Better sensitizing of the citizens that are in contact with these organs.

d)      Redeeming the infringed rights.

e)      Reducing the objective and subjective causes that lead to the corruptive attitudes of these bodies.

The Practical Guide “Learn more about the Execution of Penal Decisions”

One of the activities organized in this field was the publication of a practical guide-  “Learning more about the execution of penal decisions” by means of which people will get the chance to acquire a deeper knowledge on their rights and on the execution of penal decisions.

The reason for preparing this brochure is that during its activity, the Albanian Helsinki Committee has noticed that citizens often either lack the necessary knowledge on their rights and the way of protecting them, or find themselves in situations in which the protection of these rights becomes too difficult for them. When justice is given, the citizens should know the law and the means of protection it offers. The preparation of this guide serves to inform not only the detainee, arrested, sentenced persons and their family members, but also those who are interested in human rights and the mechanisms of protection during the phases of penal decisions execution.

Considering the aim of the guide, its language was a simple one, to enable everybody to get informed on issues regarding the execution of penal decisions. The guide was distributed to all the prisons and other bodies of the judicial system. 

 The observation of execution of penal decisions and the respect of human rights.

Considering the importance of the Courts, the Attorney’s Offices, the Bailiff’s Office, the Police Departments and prisons have in the process of execution of penal decisions, from May to December 2003, the Albanian Helsinki Committee carried out many surveys regarding the respect of human rights during the execution of penal decisions in Tirana and Durrës.

A study on the legislation of penal decisions execution.

From May to October 2003, a study was carried out on the legislation for the execution of penal decisions in Albania, aiming at the improvement of the law and the practices of the penal justice system bodies. The study has made a realistic evaluation of the legal framework on the execution of the penal decisions, the deficiencies and other issues concerning the law, by giving also the respective recommendations for changes and improvements. From the study results that the law and the judicial practice have deficiencies which need to be improved.

The recommendations will be presented to the legislative bodies to take respective action.

The legal assistance to the victims of  violation of the rights.

The Albanian Helsinki Committee has been paying attention to the letters and complaints by the convicted persons. The number of the complaints has increased thanks to an official letter of the AHC distributed to all prisons in Albania, which informed prisoners of their chance to address complaints regarding the execution of penal decisions to the AHC. The complaints mainly reach the Committee through letters. Nevertheless, there have also been telephone calls by the prisoners from their re-education institutions.

In most cases, AHC contacts many times with the same persons, both by letters and telephone calls and makes the respective verifications.

For the best part of the letters, AHC has intervened near the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Justice, the General Directorate of Prisons and certain prisons. These institutions, have in most cases responded to the intervention of AHC, which is a very positive fact.

From July 2003, 43 complaints have been coming from citizens and persons suffering their term in different prisons. The majority of the complaints were from persons suffering their term in the prisons of Bënça, Vaqarr, in the special institution of Kruja, in the re-education institution 313, etc.

The reasons for these letters and complaints have mainly been: complaints for unfair judicial decisions and requests for reviewing of their judicial cases, legal assistance and information for different law suits, complaints for violation of human rights in law-courts, complaints of maltreatment and violence towards prisoners, requests for extradition from foreign prisons to Albanian ones (Greece, Switzerland), complaints regarding the failure of execution of judicial decisions, complaints of delayed judicial procedures,  judgement by default, detention beyond the legal terms in the pre-detention institutions, bad conditions in prisons where they suffer their sentence, etc.  

All the activities are organized in the framework of the project “An observation of the law ”On Execution of the Penal Decisions”, stimulating a spirit of cooperation between responsible bodies – an important element in respecting human rights in this area”. This project was carried out in the framework of the initiative against corruption of civil society (MSI), with the financial support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).