Today, on 13.12.2024, at 09:00, the Appeal Chamber held the public hearing of case (JR) 10/2022, dated 15.02.2022, pertaining to the appeal of the Public Commissioner against decision no. 479, dated 03.12.2021 of the Independent Qualification Commission, related to the assessee Arben Dosti.
The assessee Arben Dosti, attending today’s hearing in persona, stated that he agreed to be represented in this trial, in his presence and absence by the legal representative Romina Zano, who filed the special power of attorney for representation in the form required by law, meeting the tasks left by the trial panel during the previous hearing dated 06.12.2024.
The assessee filed two preliminary requests, through which he requested: first, the suspension of the proceedings at the Chamber, in order to verify the fingerprints within the framework of the appeal grounds related to the background assessment, as well as on grounds that, another judicial trial of Mr. Arben Dosti with a Greek bank is being held in the first instance court of Athens, the decision on which is related to the vetting process criteria; secondly, he requested the declassification of the CISD report related to the background assessment, since under the current circumstances, the lack of even minimal information in this context places him in a disadvantageous position vis-à-vis the Public Commissioner’s appeal, in reference to the principle of equality of arms and proportionality.
When questioned by the presiding judge regarding his position on these preliminary requests, the Public Commissioner stated that he would leave it to the court’s discretion.
After being consulted, the trial panel assessed that the requests of the assessee, substantially, are not preliminary and requested the assessee to submit them as formal requests for further investigation and collection of evidence; consequently, it considered them unfounded in law. The presiding judge also stated that the Independent Qualification Commission had provided the assessee the opportunity to defend himself and submit evidence regarding the data resulting from this report and background assessment criteria. Nevertheless, the presiding judge informed the assessee that this request should not be submitted with the AC, but with the competent authorities according to the legislation in force.
The presiding judge reported that during the administrative proceedings at the Independent Qualification Commission, the latter and subsequently, the Appeal Chamber, on 16.10.2024, requested the Ministry of Justice to obtain information from the respective Greek institutions on the judicial status of the assessee. The AC’s request and the Ministry of Justice’s response to it were made available to the parties during the hearing, on which they were invited to take a position during the presentation of their submissions.
While presenting the grounds of appeal for the three vetting criteria, the Public Commissioner stated that the IQC decision that confirmed in office the assessee is actionable in its entirety and requested the AC the amendment of decision no. 479, dated 03.12.2021 of the Independent Qualification Commission, and the dismissal from office of the assessee Arben Dosti. The Public Commissioner found that the Ministry of Justice had forwarded no document or information whether the assessee had a criminal conviction in Greece, but stated that he leaves it to the court’s discretion whether to continue requesting the lacking information, since, according to him, the appeal grounds are sufficient for the dismissal from office of the assessee.
The legal representative of the assessee requested the AC to address another request to the Ministry of Justice, as an exhaustive institutional response would be necessary for the assessee, in order to maintain a clear position regarding the appeal grounds.
The trial panel decided that it would assess this request after the submissions stage.
The assessee presented in detail his objections regarding the three vetting criteria and reiterated the request for a reasonable time, in order to file the document requested by the Greek state, since he possessed it, but it lacked an apostille stamp. The assessee requested the panel to open the judicial investigation, in the context of the admission as evidence of several new acts in support of his claims.
When questioned about the acts, the Public Commissioner stated that from a formal point of view there was no objection, but as for their evidentiary value, he would make a statement with their regard during the final conclusions.
The presiding judge announced that the AC received today a new denunciation, which she made available to the parties.
Due to the excessively long session, the trial panel decided to postpone it to 19.12.2024, at 12:30, leaving the parties the task to take a position during this hearing regarding the denunciations and the assessee, to formally submit the requests filed at the initiation of the hearing.
The public hearing shall take place at the premises of the Appeal Chamber, at Boulevard “Dëshmorët e Kombit”, no. 3, Tirana.