Tirana, May 5, 2025
The Head of the Special Prosecution Against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK), Mr. Altin Dumani, in exercising the powers of the Public Commissioner, authorized Mr. Adnan Xholi, serving as the Chair of the Section Against Organized Crime and Terrorism at the Special Prosecution Office, to represent him before the Appeal Chamber during the judicial review of the appeal against Decision No. 760/2024, of the Independent Qualification Commission, concerning the assessee, Ms. Ardiana Bera, serving as a judge at the First Instance Court of General Jurisdiction of Tirana.
During the verification of attendance, the presiding judge stated that the assessee had submitted a request to introduce new evidence. Following the consent of the representative of the Special Prosecution Office, the adjudicating panel approved the admission of the evidence and invited the parties to present their final statements.
The Chair of the Section against Organized Crime and Terrorism at the Special Prosecution Office, Mr. Adnan Xholi, reaffirmed the grounds of the appeal and the positions previously expressed in the hearing, asserting that the assessee failed to rebut the grounds and findings set out in the appeal, which mainly concern to the asset assessment and the proficiency assessment criteria. Upon conclusion of the final submissions, Mr. Xholi requested that, following a thorough review of the case, the Appeal Chamber amend Decision No.760/ 2024, of the Independent Qualification Commission, and dismiss from office the assessee, Ms. Ardiana Bera.
The assessee opposed the request made by the representative of the Special Prosecution Office regarding the proficiency assessment criterion and sought additional time from the adjudicating panel to revise her position. However, following deliberation in chambers, the panel rejected the request as unfounded and instructed the assessee to proceed with the presentation of the final arguments.
The legal representative of the assessee contested the final arguments presented by the representative of the Special Prosecution Office concerning the asset assessment and the proficiency assessment criteria. She argued that the findings related to the income of the assessee and that of related persons were unfounded, and that the conclusion regarding professional competence was raised beyond the time limits set for filing an appeal.
Following the presentation of the parties’ closing arguments, the adjudicating panel retired for deliberation and will deliver its final decision on May 20, 2025, at 13:00.
The appeal and the elements of the case have been published on the official SPAK website, in the “Re-evaluation Process” section: https://spak.gov.al/
The Head of the Special Prosecution against Corruption and Organized Crime, in accordance with Article 179/b, paragraph 8 of the Constitution of the Republic of Albania, has been exercising the powers of the Public Commissioners as of 1 January 2025.