TIRANA, Sept 25 /ATA/ Holta Zaçaj, the chief justice of the Constitutional Court, participated in an event organized with the support of the Council of Europe, entitled “Strengthening the capacities of the Albanian judiciary to better apply standards on the right to liberty and security in Albania.”
In her remarks, Zaçaj emphasized the importance of maintaining a balance between security and individual liberty, describing it as a cornerstone of a democratic state.
Quoting Benjamin Franklin: “Those who sacrifice essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety,” Zaçaj said that justice cannot punish the perpetrators of violations at the expense of procedural safeguards and the fundamental rights of the individual.
Zaçaj underscored that “the authority of justice is not founded upon the imposition of punishment, but upon its legitimacy, which in turn is derived from the protection of rights, and particularly, in the most challenging circumstances.” He further noted that “society has no need for expedient justice when it comes at the cost of equitable justice.”
The chief justice of the Constitutional Court raised concern over the phenomenon of overcrowding in pre-trial detention facilities, emphasizing that respecting the rights of detainees is not a budgetary issue, but a constitutional and legal obligation.
Zaçaj stated that any restriction on liberty must be lawful, proportionate, and based on procedural safeguards, in accordance with the Constitution and European human rights standards.
“We cannot—and must not—measure the success of the justice system by the number of arrests if these measures do not comply with the Constitution or European standards,” Zaçaj said.
Constitutional Court chief justice Zaçaj commended the Council of Europe for this initiative and reaffirmed the Court’s commitment to bolstering the judiciary’s role as a guardian of citizens’ fundamental freedoms, stressing that the effectiveness of justice is not determined by the quantity of arrests, but by the adherence to rights and the legitimacy of judicial decisions.
/sm/
