TIRANA, May 3 /ATA/ – By Maela Marini/ Minister of Justice, Ulsi Manja, stated on Friday that the new Criminal Code is necessary and its draft will be open for a wide public consultation.
In a media briefing, Manja said that the draft submitted to the Ministry of Justice reflects 61 EU directives.
“It is needed a new Criminal Code. We are in the process of EU accession negotiations and it is a request from Brussels that Albania should have a new Criminal Code that is brought up to speed with the fast-paced development of society and technology. The Criminal Code in place was approved in 1995, while the Constitution was approved in 1998,” he added.
Manja emphasized that the current Criminal Code has been amended 33 times due to economic and technological developments.
“We have made our Criminal Code patchy, therefore Brussels but also time demands that we have a new Criminal Code in place. There is a draft at hand, the output of a working group that has been submitted to the Ministry of Justice, but it will undergo a wide public consultation beforehand. The adoption of the Criminal Code requires a qualified majority and I personally want this Code, this draft, to take all the time needed to undergo a wide public consultation, because it will be in place for the next 20-30 years with which we will align with the EU. 61 EU directives in the criminal law are reflected in that draft. Right now it will be open for consultation”, said Manja.
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