Albania passes law to launch judicial reforms key to EU bid

TIRANA, Albania – Albania’s Parliament has approved a law creating new executive institutions to run the judicial system and to institute judicial reforms that are key to persuading the European Union to launch membership negotiations.

The main opposition Democratic Party on Thursday boycotted the vote, as it has done with other laws directed at restructuring the Albanian judiciary.

The judicial reforms, approved unanimously in July, are aimed at rooting out bribery and ensuring that judges and prosecutors are politically independent.

The opposition is challenging another law requiring checks on the personal and professional backgrounds of judges and prosecutors. The country’s constitutional Court has suspended its application, a move that may postpone the reform.

Albania was granted EU candidate status in 2014.