Today, on 23.03.2022, at 10:00, the Appeal Chamber held the public plenary session of case (JD) no. 4/2021, dated 21.05.2021, pertaining to the appeal of the appellant Enkeleida Hoxha against decision no. 92, dated 17.03.2021 of the High Judicial Council, with interested parties, the High Judicial Council (HJC) and the High Inspector of Justice (HIJ).
Following the verification of the presence of the parties, during which it was ascertained the presence of the lawyer, and the absence of the appellant, Mrs. Enkeleida Hoxha, the presiding judge informed the parties that on March 18, 2022, Mrs. Hoxha had submitted to the Chamber a request for the postponement of the hearing or suspension of the trial on grounds that the HJC had refused to make available to her certain acts, according to her, necessary for the proceedings at the Appeal Chamber.
The representatives of the interested parties of the High Judicial Council (HJC) and the High Inspector of Justice (HIJ) stated that all documents in view of this trial are found in the case file administered by the Chamber at the initiation of the trial and that the appellant’s request should be refuted as unfounded on reasonable grounds.
Following the consultations, the Chamber decided to reject the request on the grounds that it failed to contain reasonable grounds for postponing the hearing. Given that the appellant had consented that the proceedings at the Appeal Chamber could take place in her presence and in her absence, the trial panel decided that the trial should continue in the presence of Ms. Enkeleida Hoxha’s lawyer, Mr. Ardian Visha.
Once the main trial was opened and once the rapporteur – at the same time the presiding judge – submitted briefly the appeal grounds, the lawyer submitted several procedural requests, through which he requested the reopening of the judicial investigation, the collection of new evidence and the summoning of witnesses.
Once the representatives of the interested parties stated their position on the rejection of these claims and after the trial panel withdrew for consultation, it decided:
- Rejection of the request for summoning witnesses, as it does not meet the requirements for their identity, under Article 231 of the Civil Procedure Code. Also, the court considers that the summoning of witnesses is not necessary to clarify the facts in the case under review, in compliance with Article 41 of Law no. 8577/2000 “On the organization and functioning of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Albania”, as amended.
- Rejection of the demand for requesting acts from Penitentiary Institutions and Probation Service, as it is assessed that these acts are not necessary for the review of the case, under Article 42, paragraph 1 of Law no. 8577/2000 “On the organization and functioning of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Albania”, as amended.
After hearing the decision of the trial panel, the lawyer requested the adjournment of the hearing, stating that at this point in the proceedings, it was required the attendance of the appellant to proceed with the submissions.
After the representatives of the interested parties stated their position on the rejection of the request, the trial panel withdrew for consultation.
Taking into account the specific circumstances of the appellant, her limited freedom, and the difficulty of guaranteeing an effective defense by the lawyer without the presence of the appellant, the trial panel decided to accept the request of the lawyer Ardian Visha to postpone the trial, to provide the opportunity to hear the appellant Enkeleida Hoxha in person.
The public plenary session will take place on 14.04.2022, at 10.00 in the premises of the Appeal Chamber, at Boulevard “Dëshmorët e Kombit”, no. 3, Tirana