- In
This Issue:
CEELI-GTZ
NGO Judicial Forum
Public
Participation Discussed at Coordination Meeting
Venice
Commission Visits Tirana
Second
Meeting of the Constitutional Commission
Third
Meeting of the Constitutional Commission
ACCAPP
Produces Workshop Guidelines
ACCAPP
Encourages Legal Community to Write "Concept Papers"
Albanian
Mayors Discuss Constitution
ACCAPP
Concept Paper Contests
Venice
Commission Representative Posted in Tirana
Upcoming
Events on ACCAPP Calendar
_________________________________________________
accapp/qakapp OSCE Presence Rr.
"Donika Kastrioti" Vila 6
Tiranë, Albania
355-42-40672 (v) 355-42-40673 (f)
[email protected]
On 18 December 1997, with funding and
assistance from the German Company for
Technical Assistance (GTZ), the American
Bar Association Central and East European Law
Initiative (CEELI) hosted the First NGO Forum on the
Constitution. The forum--focusing on the judiciary--started the
public
participation phase of the
constitution drafting and education process. During
the forum, Albanian citizens and citizen groups
identified issues relating to the judiciary that they feel
should be addressed in Albania's new constitution.
Approximately forty-five people--including
representatives of non-governmental organizations, the
court system, the Ministry of Justice, the University of
Tirana Law Faculty, and the Magistrates' School--participated in the
forum.
In a structured brainstorming exercise led by Albanian and foreign
facilitators, participants were encouraged to freely
raise issues they felt were important for the
constitution. After discussing the issues raised,
participants then voted to identify the most important
issues. Reporters for each group later shared the
results in a plenary session.
After the forum, CEELI combined the results from
each of the four groups into a single issue list and
presented the results to the Constitutional
Commission of the Parliament. CEELI and the
Administrative Center for the Coordination of
Assistance and Public Participation (ACCAPP) then
released the issue list to the Albanian press. It is
anticipated that the issues will be addressed in focused
discussion groups, workshops, and media events; and
that they will ultimately be addressed by Albania's
constitution drafters.
The NGO Forum stands as an example of cooperation
and coordination among the many domestic and
international donor groups involved. The Forum was
organized and presented by CEELI and GTZ. The
Albanian Ministry of Justice, the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the
Venice Commission of the Council of Europe (CoE),
ACCAPP, and CEELI provided facilitators for the
discussion groups. The Albanian Magistrates' School
provided the location for the Forum. Finally, the
Ministry of Institutional Reform and Parliamentary
Relations and ACCAPP provided much appreciated
organizational support and assistance.0C
The results of the Forum follow below. The issues
identified by the participants are listed according to the
number of votes received during the Forum. While
many participants expressed views as to the potential
resolution of some of these issues, the purpose of this
first Forum was to raise issues, not to resolve them.
An Impartial Judiciary: Incompatibility of the Judicial
Office with Other Jobs and Political Affiliations
Participants discussed the role of the constitution in
promoting an impartial judiciary. They stressed the
need for judicial impartiality in dealing with cases
involving the political parties. To promote judicial
impartiality, participants said that the constitution
drafters should consider whether judges should be
prohibited from holding other jobs or from having
active political affiliations. They specifically raised
the question of whether judges should be prohibited
from holding positions in other branches of
government, serving as a professor in the Law Faculty
or Magistrates' School, working as a private advocate,
or holding an active position in a political party.
(Some participants felt that work as a law professor
was not inconsistent with the role of the judge).
Nomination, Selection, and Discipline of Judges--The
Role of the High Council of Justice or Other
Responsible Bodies
Participants spoke about the system of nominating,
electing, disciplining, and removing judges from their
positions. Participants agreed that the constitution
should specify the organs to be involved in this process
and the procedures that might be followed.
Participants identified this issues as important to
promoting the separation of powers, judicial
independence, and judicial integrity.
Constitutional Review and Identification of the
Organ(s) Which Will Conduct the Review:
Constitutional Court, a Single Supreme Court, or
Other Systems
Participants spoke about different systems of
constitutional review. They identified different
organs--such as a constitutional court, a single supreme
court, or a council of state--that might be named in the
constitution to conduct the constitutional review of
cases. Participants also commented on the current
controversy involving Parliament and the
Constitutional Court.
Judicial Independence
Participants agreed that the constitution should contain
guarantees to promote the independence of the
judiciary. Participants in some groups spoke about the
political, financial, and administrative independence of
the courts as separate issues.
Financial Independence of the Judiciary
Participants spoke about the role of financial
independence in promoting judicial integrity and the
separation of powers.
Common Law System vs. Roman Law System
Participants discussed the merits and detriments of a
common law system versus a roman law system.
Issues included the use of court decisions as precedent
and the use of juries of lay persons in criminal cases.
Specialized Courts/Judges
Participants suggested that constitution drafters
consider whether the constitution should establish
specialized courts or judges, for example for
bankruptcy cases, juvenile cases, etc. Other
participants felt that the matter could be treated in a
law, rather than in the constitution.
Judicial Training/Qualification
Participants regarded judicial training/qualification as
extremely important. Participants recognized the
current situation regarding the sitting judges with only
six months of training in the law. Other participants
felt that the matter could be treated in a law, rather
than in the constitution.
Judicial Salaries
Participants commented on the importance of judges'
salaries in promoting judicial integrity.
Whether Prosecutors Should be Part of the Judiciary
or Executive
Participants felt that the constitution drafters should
address whether prosecutors should be a part of the
judiciary or the executive branch.
Organization of the Judiciary
Participants identified as an important part of a new
constitution the organization of the judiciary, including
the hierarchy of courts.
Speed of the Criminal Law Process
Participants felt that the constitution might address the
speed of the criminal law process. Participants spoke
specifically about the time between detention and the
trial of a criminal defendant.
Role of International Court Opinions in the Albanian
Legal System
Participants discussed different approaches to the
treatment of international court opinions in the courts
of Albania. Some participants felt that the issue
should be addressed in the Human Rights section of
the new constitution.
Right of the Public to Seek Constitutional Review of
the Laws
Participants discussed various models for public
involvement in the law review process. Whether a
court should be prohibited from issuing "advisory
opinions" on constitutional or other issues was also
discussed.
By Robert Pulver, ABA CEELI
Contact Information:
ABA CEELI
Rr. "Ismail Qemali," P. 34, Ap. 2
Tirana, Albania
Tel..: 355-42-34624
Fax: 355-42-33197
E-mail: [email protected]
Legal Development Specialist: Robert Pulver
E-mail: [email protected]
Liaison: John Kelley
ABA CEELI
740 15th St., N.W., 8th Floor0C
Washington, D.C. 20005-1009
Tel: (202) 662-1950
Fax: (202) 662-1597
E-mail: [email protected]
Country Director: Lisa Dickieson, Esq.
Http://www.abanet.org/ceeli
GTZ Economic Legislation Project in Albania
Ministry of Finance
Tirana, Albania
Tel.: 355-42-30414
Fax: 355-42-30417
E-mail: [email protected]
Project Director: Dr. Michael Blecher
Public
Participation Discussed at Coordination Meeting
On 11 December 1997, ACCAPP presented a
status report at the OSCE monthly
coordination meeting. The new OSCE
Ambassador, Daan Everts, chaired the meeting and
expressed his strong enthusiasm for the work of
ACCAPP, emphasizing its central role in the
coordination of international assistance in the
constitution drafting process. Coordinators, Ardita
Abdiu, Erinda Ballanca, and Scott Carlson, presented
the initial plan for promoting public participation in the
constitution drafting process, outlining the details of
the forums/meetings scheduled during the next quarter.
This plan was developed in consultations between
ACCAPP and the Ministry of Legislative Reform and
Relations with Parliament described in the inaugural
issue of the Constitutional Coordinator. This is simply
an initial program, assuming a range of additional
activities, and ACCAPP encouraged suggestions and
offers of assistance.
This initial plan starts with NGO Forums and follow-up
Focused Discussion Groups held in Tirana.
These activities will be organized around each of
the fivebasic subject areas, Legislative Power, Judicial Power,
Executive Power, Local Power, and Human Rights. To
make sure that this public discussion includes all of
Albania, it is planned to then focus outside of Tirana,
organizing discussions in various regions that
incorporate all five subjects. Once these activities
have been completed, it is anticipated that a number of
issues important to the Albania public will have been
identified. These issues will then be presented to
Albanian and foreign experts for comment in a Major
Powers Workshop to be held in Tirana.
The NGO Forums will be initial issue forums
organized by donors working with Albanian NGOs.
They will be designed to offer structured discussions
of each of the five basic issue areas. These forums will
start with a brief plenary session in which procedures
are outlined, and they will then divide up the
participants and proceed to work in small groups using
modern brainstorming techniques to produce
recommendations and identify issues needing more
detailed discussions. At the end, they will close with
a plenary session in which all the working groups
present the issues they consider important for further
discussion.
Taking the results of these NGO Forums, the donors
will then organize Focused Discussion Groups. These
discussions will consist of a moderator guiding a
discussion where NGO representatives present the
issues identified in NGO Forums to local experts,
foreign experts (if possible), and politicians. The
results of the discussions will be documented by a
rapporteur. Political representatives will be invited
and may take an active role.
Taking the results from the five NGO Forums and
accompanying Focused Discussion Groups, the donors
will hold moderated discussions in the regions. These
Regional Discussion Groups will be documented by
rapporteurs, and these activities should focus on the
participation of citizens and regional politicians.
Concluding this initial set of activities, there will be a
Major Powers Workshop that covers the legislative,
executive, and judicial areas. The workshop will be an
opportunity for the Albanian public to hear the
commentary and suggestions of Albanian and foreign
experts on the issues identified as interesting and/or
controversial during the above named activities.
Venice Commission Visits Tirana
by Giovanni Favilli, Venice Commission
At the request of Arben Imami and Sabri
Godo, Co-chairmen of the Constitutional
Commission of the Parliament, Antonio La
Pergola, President of the European Commission for
Democracy through Law (Venice Commission), visited
Tirana from 8 to 10 January 1998.
The purpose of the mission was to express once more
the readiness of the Venice Commission to assist
Albania in the constitution drafting process and collect
further information on the legal and political situation.
As Marcello Spatafora, the Italian Ambassador in
Tirana, put it, the visit was a part of the European
effort in the institution-building process in the Balkan
country. The President of the Venice Commission was
very clear in pointing out its technical and legal role.
It will be for other organizations to have the political
task of finding ways to involve the opposition in the
process.
Mr. La Pergola held meetings with the highest
authorities in the country and with all actors involved
in the drafting process. In addition, he also met a
number of members of the Constitutional Court and a
delegation of judges carrying out a hunger strike.
Throughout the visit, Mr. La Pergola reminded his
interlocutors that the Venice Commission will provide
its legal expertise only if asked so by Albanian
authorities, respectful, as usual, of the sovereignty of
national legislative bodies. Its advice would not be
binding. The Venice Commission could also give its
contribution in raising the legal awareness and
preparation of constitutional judges and members of
the parliamentary commission in certain technical
matters through ad hoc seminars, round tables and
conferences. The Italian Ambassador added that his
government would be ready to provide funds for this
goal.
He also pointed out that constitutions need broad
consensus and participation of all political forces if
they are to last for a long period of time and survive
the rotation of different political parties in power. The
future constitution of Albania, in the President's view,
should be an independent and neutral guarantee for all
parties. It should guarantee government, opposition,
local authorities, the judiciary and the human rights of
the citizens. By no means should it be a diktat of the
majority. It should avoid the concentration of power in
the hands of a single person or body and provide for an
efficient, but self-restrained Constitutional Court. It
should be able to combine democracy and efficiency.
Most Albanian politicians expressed the urgent need
for a constitution as a fundamental tool to provide
stability to the country and confidence to foreign
investors. Albania, they affirmed, is now the only
country in Europe without a constitution. Mr. La
Pergola accepted this view. To achieve legal certainty
and a proper working of the rule of law, he deems it
necessary to have clear and reasonable legislation and,
most of all, a fundamental text. However, he also
stressed the additional need for politicians with good
will, respect for State institutions, and readiness to
make political compromises. In this respect, he
pointed out that it would be a mistake to set a strict
deadline or hasten too much the drafting of the
constitution--especially, because Albania is not in a
constitutional vacuum, having a package of interim
constitutional laws first approved in 1991.
Mr. La Pergola recognized the moderate stance of the
majority and its willingness to wait for the whole
opposition to join the constitutional drafting process.
He expressed his views on the procedure followed by
the current government for the drafting of the
constitution and found it perfectly in line with the
constitutional provisions in force. In particular, he
noted that the Law No.7491 of 29 April, 1991, "On the
main constitutional provisions", the substitute for a
constitution until a new one is adopted, states under
Article 44, in Chapter IX (Final Provisions):
"The provisions of
this law operate until the adoption of
the Constitution of the Republic of Albania,
whose draft
will be prepared by the Special Commission
appointed
by the People's Assembly.
The members of the
commission and the deadline for
submitting the draft constitution shall be
defined by a
special decision of the People's Assembly."
The current government took the special decision
mentioned in Article 44 on 9 September 1997
(No.339). The Commission is composed of 21
members, of whom 12 are from the majority and 9
from the opposition.
Furthermore, the President of the Venice Commission
found that the representation of various political forces
in the parliamentary commission is quite fair, since it
gives the minority parties a share of seats more
substantial than their vote percentage in Parliament.
Even if the election system had relied on the
calculation of votes according to the proportional
system, it is possible to demonstrate that the majority
is still under-represented in the commission and all the
minority groups, including the Union for Democracy,
are to different extends over-represented.
Mr. La Pergola also took note of the fact that the idea
of submitting the constitution to a referendum was
originally conceived for the draft of November 1994.
It has no constitutional basis, but it is generally felt in
the Albanian political system that the new constitution
should have popular endorsement and approval.
Mr. La Pergola pointed out that an option based on a
different track from the current one (parliamentary
commission, parliament, referendum), such as a choice
in favor of a constitutional assembly, would not be
prevented in principle. It would require, however, a
constitutional amendment. Political parties should be
open to imaginative solutions to break the deadlock in
the process.
The voting procedures in the parliamentary
commission have not been decided yet. The proposal
of the two co-chairmen, Mr. Godo and Mr. Imami,
according to which decisions should be taken with a
2/3 qualified majority, has not been approved for the
time being. (See the article on the Commission
meetings elsewhere in the Constitutional Coordinator.)
The idea of drafting a new constitution through a
constituent assembly is supported by the Democratic
Party-led Union for Democracy. The President of the
Venice Commission had a long meeting with its leader,
Mr. Sali Berisha, whom he had first encountered when
the Albanian politician was President of the Republic.
Mr. Berisha repeated his long standing accusations
against the current government: profiting from unfair
elections, not respecting agreements, infringing the
independence of judiciary, and so on. As regards the
constitution, he said his party is ready to discuss it in
a roundtable, but the proper way to achieve a
fundamental text should be through a constituent
assembly resulting from new elections. The current
parliament, in his opinion, does not have the moral
authority to draft a permanent constitution.
The parties not belonging to the Union for Democracy,
and the international community, are very much
against the idea of new elections in a country where
law and order is not yet fully restored. Mr. La Pergola
mentioned that a similar risk could come from holding
a referendum on the constitution.
Mr. Berisha, as most of the personalities the President
of the Venice Commission met, expressed the view
that agreement on the content of a future constitution
would not be a problem. A vast majority of the
political spectrum agrees on the idea of a
parliamentary republic and thinks that disagreements
only exist on procedural issues.
Mr. La Pergola was quite sceptical on this point. He
said that transforming the current interim
constitutional provisions into a real constitution could
raise some problems. Firstly, it should be decided
which parts of the current texts should be kept and
which should be changed. Secondly, it would be
necessary to guarantee that constitution be observed,
with a system of constitutional review. Associated
with this is the problem of granting the independence
of the judiciary. Thirdly, there are many kinds of
parliamentary republics. The right choice for Albania
would depend also on the electoral system.
Other problems arising from actual drafting could
include the regulation of the motions of no-confidence,
the option for bicameralism, the powers of the
President of the Republic, the division of power
between central and local government, and the role of
international treaties. On all these points, Mr. La
Pergola thought that the alleged general identity of
views should be verified.
The mission turned out to be useful in collecting
information on the Albanian legal and political
situation, not only on the constitution, but also on
recent legislation on the High Council of Justice and
the organisation of the judiciary. The mission will
also serve to establish a basis for future work by the
Venice Commission, which enjoys a high reputation
throughout the political spectrum and the legal circles.
The diffuse opinion to be verified in practice of
course that there is virtually no conflict about the
content of a coming constitution offers some hope for
the possibility that Albania will finally have a
permanent fundamental law in the not too distant
future.
Contact Information:
Venice Commission
Council of Europe
F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex
France
0C
Tel: +33 3 8841 20 00 (Switchboard)
Tel: +33 3 8841 30 48 (Direct line)
Fax: + 33 3 8841 37 38
E-mail: [email protected]
Second Meeting of the Constitutional Commission
On 8 December 1997, the Constitutional
Commission of the Albanian Parliament met
to discuss a draft of Commission Internal
Operating Rules. With approximately 14 of 21
members in attendance, it was decided that discussion
of the draft should proceed in general terms but that
final decisions should await later meetings where all
members might be in attendance. Opposition members
of the Union for Democracy declined to attend, and
their absence was noted by Commission Co-chairmen
Sabri Godo and Arben Imami, who expressed hopes
that the opposition would choose to attend in the near
future. The meeting closed with a presentation from
ACCAPP Representatives in which the initial plan for
promoting public participation in the constitution
drafting process was explained.
Third Meeting of the Constitutional Commission
The Constitutional Commission of the Albanian
Parliament had its third meeting on 22
December 1997. The Commission with
fourteen of its members had the following items on its
agenda:
Reviewing the draft Commission Internal
Operating Rules;
Reviewing the Technical Staff candidates;
ACCAPP and ABA/CEELI Report on the first
NGO Forum.
The Commission reviewed one by one the articles of
the draft of the Internal Operating Rules. These draft
rules were not voted upon, and it was decided that they
should be discussed again at the next Commission
meeting to be held on 22 January 1998.
At this meeting, the parliamentarians were briefed on
the first activity involving public participation in the
discussion of the main constitutional issues. This
activity was the NGO Forum on the Judicial Issues,
which has held successfully on 18 December 1997.
The parliamentarians were briefed on the
organizational procedures and the results of the Forum
by the ABA/CEELI Legal Specialist, Robert A. Pulver,
and Ardita N. Abdiu, ACCAPP Coordinator. Also,
parliamentarians were provided with a copy of the
report which included all the recommendations and
issues raised by the participants of the Forum with
regard to the Judiciary.
During this presentation, the parliamentarians
reviewed the report, and afterwords, they expressed
their interest in having such reports on a continuing
basis covering public participation and all other
activities. ACCAPP and the other donors and
assistance providers plan to update and inform the
Commission on many more events like this in the
future.
ACCAPP Produces Workshop Guidelines
In its coordinating role, ACCAPP developed
Workshop Guidelines to assist national and
international NGOs in the organization of public
forums and meetings. These Guidelines, which are
now publicly available in English and Albanian, offer
a broad survey of the details involved in planning and
executing a modern, participatory forum/meeting. The
Guidelines are practical and include matters ranging
from sample budgets based on local experience and
costs (in U.S. Dollars) to an explanation of the process
of "brainstorming." While the Guidelines are merely
suggestions and not intended to mandate a particular
format, they do provide some general principles and
tools which, if employed, can ensure uniformity and
ease in collecting participant input.
ACCAPP
Encourages Legal Community to
Write "Concept Papers"
In November, ACCAPP began contacting
representatives from the Albanian and Foreign
Legal Community to obtain commitments to
write "Concept Papers." As discussed in the last issue
of the Constitutional Coordinator, these papers are
intended to provide basic explanations of constitutional
issues (in Albanian). Since November, ACCAPP
received commitments from Albanian and Foreign
lawyers to write various Concept Papers on
constitutional issues. These Concept Papers will be
used primarily as background materials for the public
discussions organized through NGO Forums and
Focused Discussion Groups.
At the CEELI - GTZ Forum, ten concept papers on the
Judiciary were used. ACCAPP so far has received
Concept Papers and commitments for more from:
CEELI Tirana, Robert A. Pulver, John Kelley, and
Ardita N. Abdiu; CEELI Expert Team on
Constitutional Law; OSCE/ODHIR, Christopher
Shields; Venice Commission/Council of Europe
Giovanni Favilli and Dimitri Girotto; International
Center for Not-Profit Law, Douglas B. Rutzen;
ACCAPP, Scott Carlson, Erinda Ballanca, and
Shkelzen Zeneli; Private Practitioner, Irena Reso;
Court of Cassation of Albania, Perikli Zaharia.
ACCAPP is working on collecting more Concept
Papers so that each NGO Forum will have relevant
issues treated by Concept Papers. These papers proved
very useful and helpful in the last NGO Forum.
Participants praised the way these Concept Papers were
written and structured. Hopefully, this favorable
reception will encourage more lawyers to write
Concept Papers on these important Albanian
constitutional issues in the future.
Albanian Mayors Discuss Constitution
On 3-14 January 1998, on the premises of
Tirana Hotel, a Conference of Albanian
Mayors was held. PAPA-Project, Dutch
Association of Municipalities (VNG-SLGCP), and the
Urban Institute organized this conference. A central
issue raised at this conference was the question of local
government autonomy. One of the speakers at the
Conference, Hugh Nichols, emphasized that the
drafting of the Constitution should address this
important issue and protect the needs of the local
government. ACCAPP distributed materials,
informing the mayors about activities of the
constitution drafting process.
During the conference, the organizers distributed a
questionnaire developed in consultation with
ACCAPP. One of the questions addressed was: What
are the three most important issues that should be
covered by the new constitution of Albania with regard
to the role of local authorities in public administration?
The three most common responses from the
participants were:
1. Decentralization and financial and fiscal
independence of local government;
2. Establishment of executive structures of local
government including the municipal police;
3. Separation of municipal properties from state
properties and private ones.
The full results of the questionnaire will be published
in the next Constitutional Coordinator.
Contact Information:
Public Administration Project, USAID
Tirana International Hotel, Sheshi "Sk89nderbej"
Tirana, Albania
Tel: 355 42 325 24
Fax: 355 42 341 88
E-mail: [email protected]
Counseler for Economic Development: Bart Kennedy
Urban Institute
Ministry of Transport and Public Affaires
Tirana, Albania
Tel./Fax: 355 42 27945
E-mail: [email protected]
Resident Infrastructure Advisor: Steven M. Swanson
Association of Netherlands Municipalities VNG-SLGCP
Rr. Vilave Gjermane, N.8/b
P.O. Box 1735
Tirana, Albania
Tel: 355 42 288 73
Fax: 355 42 352 35
E-mail: [email protected]
Project Manager: Erik Boven
As noted in the first issue of the Constitutional
Coordinator, ACCAPP opened a contest for
the best Concept Paper at the Tirana Law
School and at the Magistrates School. The topics
selected by the law students and magistrate school
students varied, and there was a great interest shown
from both the law students and the Magistrate School
students. Although the issues were relatively complex
and not necessarily easy, the participating students
produced a substantial effort.
In the dozen papers submitted at Tirana Law School,
topics included the powers of the president of the
republic, judicial review, judicial power, parliament,
human rights, etc. Currently, the papers are under the
examination by a group of lawyers, and there will be a
ceremony announcing the 2 best papers in January. In
the ceremony, the Dean and professors of the Tirana
Law School will participate and prizes will be
distributed.
At the Magistrates School, the participation in the
contest was considered obligatory. All the papers were
presented within the second week of December. The
papers were mainly concentrated on judicial issues.
Prizes were awarded at the Christmas party the
Magistrates School organized on December 25.
Honorable Mentions include Elvis Kotini on Judicial
Process - Decisions; Albert Meca on the Institution of
the President of the Republic; Monika Zeqo on the
Judicial Review of the Constitutionality of Laws;
Marcela Balili on Issues of the Governmental Cabinet;
and Eduart Halimi on Nomination, Selection, and
Discipline of Judges. Sand89r Simoni with his paper on
the Nomination, Selection, and Discipline of Judges
won Second Place, and Enkelejd Alibeaj with his paper
on Legislative Institutions of Direct and Indirect
Democracy won First Place. The United States
Information Service (USIS) sponsored the prizes. The
Second Prize was an America Heritage Dictionary, and
the First Prize was a Black's Law Dictionary.
Venice Commission Representative Posted in Tirana
The Council of Europe has maintained an
active role in the constitutional drafting
process through the European Commission
for Democracy Through Law (the Venice
Commission). Following the establishment of the Task
Force for Albania in October 1997, the Venice
Commission assigned a resident representative in
Albania, who has been participating in all activities
organized on the drafting process.
Giovanni Favilli, the representative of the Venice
Commission in Albania during December 1997, helped
in the preparation of concept papers as an author and
co-author. Also, Mr. Favilli, was very active in the
first Forum organized on Judicial issues. In this Forum
organized by CEELI-GTZ on December 18th, Mr.
Favilli served as a moderator of a discussion group and
in so doing made a key contribution to the success of
the Forum.
In January, Mr. Favilli returned to Tirana to continue
assisting in the Constitution drafting process. Mr.
Favilli will be coordinating the visits of Council of
Europe delegations during the month. In addition, Mr.
Favilli will continue to contribute to the development
of concept papers, provide technical assistance, and
assist in the execution of additional fora.
Upcoming Events on ACCAPP Calendar
To ensure coordination of future constitutional
activities, ACCAPP requests that all
interested persons submit details of any
planned activities. ACCAPP asks that all sponsors
submit their name, organizational affiliation, address,
telephone and fax number, and e-mail address along
with information on upcoming activities.
19 January - Focused Discussion on Judicial
Issues -- CEELI
21 January - NGO Forum on Legislative
Issues -- ORT Democracy Network
22-23 January - European Parliamentary
Delegation -- CoE, EU, and OSCE
11 February - NGO Forum on Human Rights
Issues -- Council of Europe and Albanian
Human Rights Documentation Center
April - Major Powers Workshop -- CEELI
----------------------
Administrative Center for Coordination of Assistance and Public
Participation
ACCAPP is an independent entity, formed at the request of the Government
of Albania and sponsored by the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe. Its mission is to coordinate assistance and public participation
in
the drafting of a constitution for the Republic of Albania.
Staff:
Ardita Abdiu, Coordinator
Erinda Ballanca, Coordinator
Scott Carlson, Coordinator and OSCE Project Manager
Shkelzen Zeneli, OSCE Project Officer
Elda Gorenca, OSCE Project Officer
Contact Information:
accapp/qakapp
OSCE Presence
Rr. "Donika Kastrioti" Vila 6
Tirane, Albania
355-42-40672 (v)
355-42-40673 (f)