The constitutional struggle of reinstating the trust in the judiciary in Albania

In 2016 the Albanian Parliament undertook a groundbreaking constitutional reform in the judiciary aiming to eradicate corruption, corporatism, and reinstate the trust of the public in the judicial system, by establishing a one of its kind system of vetting of judges and prosecutors and a redesigned institutional set-up for governing the judiciary. Despite the initial tangible track record of the vetting, delays in appointing the members of the newly established institutions, those of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court, and the incremental backlog of cases, became concerning threats for the protection of fundamental rights of individuals. The scope of the paper is to delve into the progress and shortcomings of the first four years of implementation of the reform, by emphasizing that despite the initial progress in reforming the judiciary, an intensified effort is required to re-instate the citizens’ trust in the system.