Prosecutor General Olsian Çela is reporting to the High Prosecutorial Council regarding the work of the institution he leads, during 2024.
During his speech, Çela said that 2024 was not an easy year, as according to him, there was a large caseload and a small number of prosecutors, writes A2 CNN.
However, he assessed that institutional coordination with SPAK and the police yielded results in the implementation of criminal justice.
Also, according to him, the intensification and further improvement of international cooperation yielded results in investigative work, implementation and improvement of criminal justice.
Excerpt from the speech of the Prosecutor General:
The year 2024 was a year of considerable difficulties for the prosecution offices of general jurisdiction due to the continuation of work with a low number of prosecutors as a result of the transitional re-evaluation process. However, the efforts and professionalism of prosecutors at all levels, despite the workload, as well as the very good institutional cooperation and coordination with the Special Prosecution Office and the State Police, and further intensification and improvement of international cooperation, yielded results in investigative work, implementation and improvement of criminal justice,
During 2024, I assess that results have been achieved in a number of objectives in the focus of the activity of the General Prosecutor's Office, this thanks to institutional administrative and procedural measures, such as the adoption of general instructions and action plans to continue the unification of the activity of prosecutors with general jurisdiction and the supervision of their implementation. Special attention has been paid to the continuation of the implementation of joint acts with law enforcement institutions and agencies inside and outside the country and the adoption of new agreements to increase the effectiveness of inter-institutional cooperation. Thus, among these measures, we highlight:
– Following up on the recommendations of the resolution of the Albanian Parliament through detailing in the action plan
– Following up on the priority recommendations of the Council of Ministers "On the fight against crime for 2024" through the approval and implementation of the general instruction as well as the action plan with clear activities for the implementation of the priority recommendations.
– Pursuing priority institutional objectives in the fight against crime, where special focus in 2024 was on consolidating the investigative process through a legal framework as complete as possible and in line with international standards, continuing work on the implementation of general guidelines, continuing work on digitalization, effective investigation and creation of a database of money laundering cases, monitoring the activity of the judicial police, coordination with justice and law enforcement institutions inside and outside the country, strengthening institutional capacities, etc.;
– Fulfilling the obligations arising from the integration process, where the General Prosecutor's Office has ensured active participation at the management and technical level in periodic meetings, has contributed with analytical information on institutional developments in the fight against crime and the protection of human rights for the drafting of the Progress Report of Albania, for the Subcommittee on Justice, Freedom and Security, the Roadmap for the rule of law, and has continued dynamic cooperation with the ministries responsible for chapters 23 "Judiciary and fundamental rights" and 24 "Justice, Freedom and Security";
– An important contribution of our institution has been in the framework of drafting and periodically monitoring the progress of measures of cross-sectoral strategies and their action plans such as: the Cross-sectoral Justice Strategy, the Cross-sectoral Anti-Corruption Strategy, the Juvenile Justice Strategy, the Strategy Against Organized Crime and the action plan against trafficking in persons, the Cross-sectoral Strategy for the Protection of Victims of Crime, the National Strategy for the Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism, etc.
Sub-legal framework 2024
General instructions and acts of organizational and functional importance adopted in 2024 include:
– General Instruction No. 6/2024 “On the effective investigation and prosecution of criminal offenses against trafficking in persons
– General Instruction No. 7/2024 “On security measures”, through which clear directions were given to prosecutors of prosecution offices at courts with general jurisdiction for the implementation of legal standards that balance the need for personal and public security and the effectiveness of criminal prosecution, with the necessity to respect human rights. It also provided instructions on alternative measures, diligence in investigation and monitoring of deadlines. This instruction gave special importance to proactive reaction in cases of ascertainment of violence in custody, where the registration of ex officio proceedings and impartial investigation were instructed;
– General Instruction No. 4/2024, “On the implementation of Law No. 33/2024 'On granting amnesty'”,
– General Instruction No. 5/2024 “On priority recommendations in the fight against crime for 2024 in the Prosecutor's Offices of General Jurisdiction”;
– Cooperation Agreement between the General Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Albania and the Federal Prosecutor's Office of the Kingdom of Belgium, signed on 7.11.2024, which replaces the previous cooperation agreement between the General Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Albania and the Federal Prosecutor's Office of Belgium, signed in Brussels on 10 May 2011 and aims to increase the existing cooperation at a structural level, to improve mutual understanding of the parties through the exchange of information on each other's legal systems, good practices and to promote direct cooperation between the two institutions within the respective field of competence, on criminal matters of serious crimes, illicit trafficking and money laundering. In the spirit of this agreement, it was agreed to continuously monitor the execution of requests for legal assistance;
– Cooperation Agreement with the Ministry of Interior “On the examination of seeds and young seedlings of seized narcotic plants”, dated 01.03.2024, which defines the method of cooperation between the bodies responsible for carrying out the examination of seeds and young seedlings of suspected narcotic plants, while simultaneously guaranteeing protection from any damage or abuse in their administration;
– Circular No. 1355 prot., dated 22.10.2024, which instructs prosecutors to treat attacks on journalists and the media as a priority, raising awareness of the importance of protecting media freedom;
– Circular No. 207, dated 07.02.2024 and No. 122/1, dated 26.07.2024, which address the issues identified in the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights and instruct prosecutors to take measures to ensure procedural standards for due process;
– Circular No. 862/1 prot., dated 18.07.2024, through which a full and comprehensive investigation was requested for road accidents and those related to the electrical network and guidelines were provided for the means of seeking evidence necessary for the effective exercise of criminal prosecution, as well as other interests/responsibilities arising from these issues for the victim, the parties or the state body involved;
– Circular No. 645/1 prot., dated 30.07.2024, through which the recommendations of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination were forwarded for implementation in the prosecutor's offices of general jurisdiction, which requested careful handling of reference materials in this field and ensuring the rights of victims;
– Circular No. 1398/1 prot., dated 04.12.2024, which requires measures to be taken to guarantee the victim's right to information on the status of the proceedings, the disposition of the parties' requests and the guarantee of the completeness of the investigations and the respect of procedural deadlines, in accordance with the normative framework in this field, as well as with the recommendations for fulfilling the role of the prosecutor in relation to the rights of victims and witnesses in the criminal process;
– Circular No. 622/1 prot., dated 12.12.2024 “On delays in the exercise of criminal prosecution”, which requires efficient organization of work and increased diligence in the investigation from the leaders, prosecutors and judicial police officers, in order to conduct complete investigations, ensure a reasonable duration of the process and avoid delays that risk leading to the statute of limitations of criminal prosecution. (A2 Televizion)
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