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- Shqip
Who leads the activity of the Constitutional Court?
The Constitutional Court activity is organized and led by its Chairperson, and in his/her absence, by the most senior judge in office.
The Chairperson of the Constitutional Court convenes and leads the plenary sessions of the Constitutional Court.
How does the Constitutional Court exercise its activity?
For the exercise of its functions the Court is organized in Chambers, Meeting of Judges and Plenary Sessions.
The Chambers have the power of preliminary review of the applications.
The Meeting of Judges has the following powers: to preliminary review the applications if so decided by the chambers; to determine the main directions of the expenses of budgetary means; to decide on the organizational structure of the Constitutional Court, on the number of administrative staff, as well as on the professional criteria to be met by them and respectively on their salaries; to approve the internal rules of procedure for the activity of the Constitutional Court; to decide on the disciplinary measures against legal advisors, etc.
The full composition of the Constitutional Court has the power to examine cases in plenary sessions.
Which is the status of the Constitutional Court employees?
The administration of the Court shall be composed of civil servants and other employees.
The civil servants of the Constitutional Court administration shall be subject to Civil Service regulations, as long as this does not run counter to the organic law of this court, and they shall be treated financially similarly as the administrative staff of the Assembly of the Republic of Albania.
The Secretary General is the highest civil servant and is appointed by the Meeting of Judges.
Which is the structure that assists the decision-making process of the Constitutional Court?
The Legal Service Unit operates attached to the Constitutional Court and it constitutes the scientific legal nucleus of the Constitutional Court. It carries out advisory and supporting activity in its decision-making process.
The Legal Service Unit shall consist of legal advisors appointed by the Chairperson from among the jurists who fulfil the criteria for being a judge, a prosecutor or a jurist of not less than 10 years of professional experience as lecturer of law, lawyer, or senior employee in the public administration.
Not less than half of the total number of legal advisors shall be appointed from among the ranks of magistrates.
In which international organisms does the Constitutional Court adhere?
Constitutional Court of Albania is a full member of the Conference of European Constitutional Courts (since 2000); of the Association of Francophone Constitutional Courts (since 2000); of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice (since 2011).
Since 2016, Constitutional Court has supported and at the same time accepted the initiative to setting-up of a network facilitating information exchange, which would enable superior courts of the Contracting States to have a point of contact within the European Court of Human Rights, with the view to enrich the dialogue and the mutual exchange of respective research resources in carrying out their shared responsibility for applying and respecting the European Convention on Human Rights.
With which international bodies does the Constitutional Court cooperate and in what cases?
Constitutional Court of Albania (Albania is a member state of the Venice Commission since 1996) has an ongoing and long term cooperation with the Venice Commission, which is steered by the wide services that this Commission offers for the constitutional courts, specifically the publication of Bulletin on Constitutional Court Case-Law (our Court has periodically contributed to this publication with its most important decisions), CODICES database, Venice Forum, the Joint Council on Constitutional Justice, amicus curiae briefs, the ongoing update of information about the Constitutional Courts, organization of many conferences and seminars etc.
Constitutional Court cooperates with the other constitutional courts (with some of them it has signed Memorandums of Understanding), and with the European Court of Human Rights as well.
In specific cases, during the case examination, Constitutional Court might request the advisory opinion of the European Court of Human Rights regarding the application of the rights and freedoms provided by the European Convention on Human Rights or its added Protocols, or amicus curia briefs by other organisms.
