November 23, 2023
The Public Commissioner was present today at the Appeal Chamber as commenced the judicial review of the appeal filed against Decision no. 574/2022, issued by the Independent Qualification Commission, for the assessee, Mr. Pëllumb Zaimi, who holds the position of judge at the Berat Judicial District Court.
After verifying the parties’ attendance at the hearing, the presiding judge invited the Public Commissioner to present the appeal grounds.
The Public Commissioner, adhering to all the appeal grounds, stated that unlike what the Independent Qualification Commission panel disposes, based on the re-evaluation criteria, considering the state of facts and evidence, the assessee does not achieve the trustable level for the confirmation in office. In conclusion of the submissions, based on Article 61, paragraph 5 of law no. 84/2016, the Public Commissioner requested the panel to amend the decision no. 574 /2022, of the Independent Qualification Commission and to dismiss from office the assessee, Mr. Pëllumbi Zaimi.
The assessee objected to the findings in the appeal and requested the administration of some new evidence. At the end of his submissions, he asked the adjudication panel to uphold the Commission’s decision instead.
When questioned by the presiding judge regarding the denunciations, the Public Commissioner stated that he reckons the grounds presented in the appeal sufficient to be based on the final investigation, for the amendment of the Commission’s decision and the dismissal of the assessee. In these circumstances, it was left up to the judgment of the adjudication panel to express the need for an investigation into the filed denunciations, following the submission of the appeal.
After consultation in the chamber, the adjudication panel decided to open the judicial investigation and administer in the quality of evidence as part of the documents filed by the assessee. Related to the acts that could be obtained through the official websites of the judicial institutions, the panel stated that the administration was unnecessary.
Moreover, the panel also requested that the acts provided by the assessee only in simple photocopies should have been submitted in the proper legal form, in the following hearing scheduled to be held on December 7, 2023, at 10:30. Thus, the adjudication panel invited the parties to also prepare their final conclusions.
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. PDF
