TIRANA, April 10 /ATA/ The High Inspector of Justice, Artur Metani and members of the HIJ team conducted a working visit to the justice institutions in The Hague. They were accompanied by the ambassador of the Republic of Albania to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Artur Kuko, and the liaison prosecutor for Albania at EUROJUST, Fatjona Memçaj.
The aim of the visit was to introduce the directors and representatives of the justice system of the Netherlands to the best practices of the rule of law and the challenges that the justice system has, not only in countries with a nascent democracy like Albania, but also in those with consolidated democracies such as the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
In a press release, the HIJ announced that, “the meeting with the member of the Supreme Court, judge Marc Fierstra, part of the special troupe of the Supreme Court that handles disciplinary measures against magistrates and at the same time the president of the Dutch Association for the Judiciary revolved around the need to talk about the ethics of magistrates, the discussions within the justice community on various professional dilemmas, and most importantly, the public’s trust in the independence of the system and towards other branches of government.”
Metani and Fierstra shared the view that they uphold the same values for independence and the rule of law and that independence is not a prerogative of the judge or prosecutor, but a right of the citizens.
Experience with the practices of disciplinary proceedings was the highlight of the meeting that the High Inspector of Justice had with the Prosecutor General of the Supreme Court of the Netherlands, F.W. (Edwin) Bleichrodt, as the institution that handles, among other things, the violations of judges.
The High Inspector of Justice also had a meeting with the President of the European Agency for Cooperation in Criminal Justice (EUROJUST), Ladislav Hamran. The President of EUROJUST expressed his appreciation for Albania’s achievements in the field of justice and underlined his willingness to help a new institution like the HIJ. President Hamran appreciated Albania’s contribution to EUROJUST through the first liaison prosecutor, Fatjona Memcaj.
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