October 4, 2023
The Public Commissioner was present today at the Appeal Chamber as continued the judicial review of the appeal filed against Decision no. 595/2022, issued by the Independent Qualification Commission, for the assessee, Mr. Arbër Çela, who holds the position of judge at Shkodër Judicial District Court.
Following the verification of the parties’ the presiding judge invited the Public Commissioner to present her stance related to the new evidence, which were submitted by the assessee in the previous hearing and on some additional documents filed in the Appeal Chamber.
The Public Commissioner stated that, upon the verification of the documentation, it appears that some of the acts were not filed in the proper legal form and asked the adjudication panel not to consider their administration. Regarding the remaining documentation, the Public Commissioner agreed to be administered by the Chamber, while reserving her stance on their content to be presented to the final conclusions. The Public Commissioner also shared her position related to a public denunciation, leaving it up to the Chamber to decide whether or not to initiate the investigation, since the information contained in this denunciation will not impact the final investigation of the appeal.
The assessee, through the legal representative, provided explanations over the acts that the Public Commissioner objected to.
Then, the assessee answered the questions directed by the case rapporteur and the international observer.
After consultation, the adjudication panel decided to open the judicial review, not to investigate the denunciation discussed in the hearing, and to administer the documentation for which there were no objections. The hearing session was adjourned on October 26, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. providing time to the assessee to properly ensure the legal form of the acts, which were not administered in the capacity of evidence.
In accordance with Article 16, Point 1 of the Institution of Public Commissioners’ regulations, the appeal has been published on the official website of the institution, which can be accessed at http://ikp.al/ankime.
The Institution of Public Commissioners has been established and operates under Article 179/b and the Annex of the Constitution of the Republic of Albania and Law No. 84/2016, “On the Transitional Re-evaluation of Judges and Prosecutors in the Republic of Albania”.
The Public Commissioners represent the public interest during the transitional process of re-evaluation of judges and prosecutors in the Republic of Albania.