The Appeal Chamber held on 02.04.2025, at 10:00, the public hearing of case (JR) 36/2022, dated 29.07.2022, pertaining to the appeal of the Public Commissioner against decision no. 539, dated 08.06.2022, of the Independent Qualification Commission, related to the assessee Hysni Mulaj.

The presiding judge announced that Article 179/b, paragraph 8 of the Constitution of the Republic of Albania and Article 199 of the Code of Civil Procedure have set forth the transfer of powers from the Public Commissioner to the Head of the Special Prosecution Office, represented in this case upon special authorization by the prosecutor of the Special Prosecution Office, Mr. Klodian Braho, present at the hearing.

Mr. Braho submitted the appeal grounds related to the asset assessment, considering that the IQC decision is not in accordance with the state of the facts and evidence administered in the case file, and that the assessee has failed to prove the legitimacy of the source of creation of his assets. The Prosecutor of the Special Prosecution Office, Mr. Braho, requested the amendment of the IQC decision no. 539, dated 08.06.2022 and the dismissal from office of the assessee Hysni Mulaj.

The legal representative of the assessee maintained that the appeal grounds do not stand, that they are unfounded in law and evidence, and submitted in detail the objections with their regard, and several acts that she requested the trial panel to collect as evidence The assessee requested the upholding of decision no. 539, dated 08.06.2022, of the Independent Qualification Commission, related to the assessee Hysni Mulaj.

Subsequently, in view of the consideration of the case, the assessee responded to several questions of the case rapporteur and the observer of the International Monitoring Operation.

Given that the written explanations of the assessee regarding a public complaint were forwarded to him by the Chamber, the prosecutor of the Special Prosecution Office, Mr. Braho, stated that this complaint contains no circumstances or facts for further investigation. He stated his support for opening the judicial investigation of the case, in order to obtain the new evidence, which will be assessed in relation to the appeal grounds.

After being consulted, the trial panel decided to open the judicial investigation, accepting as evidence the documentation lodged by the assessee, and decided not to investigate the public complaint. The next hearing, where the parties must also be prepared for the final conclusions, shall take place on 07.04.2025, at 14:00.

The public hearing shall take place at the premises of the Appeal Chamber, at Boulevard “Dëshmorët e Kombit”, no. 3, Tirana.

The Appeal Chamber held on 02.04.2025, at 13:00, the public hearing of case (JR) 41/2024, dated 21.10.2024, pertaining to the appeal of the Public Commissioner against decision no. 762, dated 15.05.2024, of the Independent Qualification Commission, related to the assessee Afrim Shehu.

The presiding judge announced that Article 179/b, paragraph 8 of the Constitution of the Republic of Albania and Article 199 of the Civil Procedure Code have set forth the transfer of powers from the Public Commissioner to the Head of the Special Prosecution Office, represented in this trial upon special authorization by the prosecutor of the Special Prosecution Office, Mr. Klodian Braho, present at the hearing.

The legal representative of the assessee considered Mr. Braho’s authorization to be well-founded and the trial panel legitimized his presence at this hearing.

Mr. Braho stated that he had waived the appeal grounds related to the proficiency assessment criterion and continued with the submission of the appeal grounds related to the asset assessment criterion. He held that the assessee had failed to prove the legitimacy of the source of creation of his assets nor prove the opposite of the burden of proof for this criterion. The representative of the Special Prosecution Office requested the amendment of the IQC decision no. 762, dated 15.05.2024, and the dismissal from office of the assessee Afrim Shehu.

The assessee and his legal representative disputed the appeal grounds and filed documents in support of their claims, which they requested the trial panel to accept them as evidence. With regard to this request, Mr. Klodian Braho maintained that he found no formal impediments to the administration of the documents.

The presiding judge of the trial panel requested the parties to take a position regarding three public complaints, two of which had been forwarded to the Public Commissioners Institution before the submission of the appeal against the decision subject to consideration, and no appeal grounds had been raised in their regard. These complaints were subsequently forwarded to the Chamber by the Public Commissioners Institution. The representative of the Special Prosecution Office stated that none of them contained grounds for further investigation. The assessee provided explanations and submitted new documents regarding the issues raised in the complaints.

After being consulted, the trial panel decided to open the judicial investigation of the case and accept as evidence all the documents filed by the assessee, except for the financial analysis of the years 2009 – 2016, which is already part of the case file.

The trial panel decided not to open an investigation on the public complaints, and once the parties stated that they had no procedural requests, decided to close the judicial investigation and invited them to submit their final conclusions.

Given that the representative of the Special Prosecution Office requested time to prepare the final conclusions, it was decided to postpone the hearing to 22.04.2025, at 11:30.

The public hearing shall take place at the premises of the Appeal Chamber, at Boulevard “Dëshmorët e Kombit”, no. 3, Tirana.

The trial panel of the Appeal Chamber, consisting of judges, Natasha Mulaj, presiding, Rezarta Schuetz, rapporteur, Albana Shtylla, Ina Rama, Mimoza Tasi, members, announced the decision on case no. 33/2022, dated 21.07.2022, pertaining to the appeal of the assessee Elveta Stafa (Murra) against decision no. 534, dated 23.05.2022 of the Independent Qualification Commission.

At the conclusion of the trial in camera, the trial panel, pursuant to Article 66, paragraph 1 (a) of Law no. 84/2016, “On the transitional re-evaluation of judges and prosecutors in the Republic of Albania”, unanimously decided:

– Upholding decision no. 534, dated 23.05.2022 of the Independent Qualification Commission, pertaining to the assessee Elveta Stafa (Murra).

– This decision is final and effective immediately.

Announced today, in Tirana, on 03.04.2025.

The trial panel of the Appeal Chamber, consisting of judges, Natasha Mulaj, presiding, Albana Shtylla, rapporteur, Mimoza Tasi, Rezarta Schuetz, Sokol Çomo, members, announced the decision on case no. 27/2024, dated 18.07.2024, pertaining to the appeal of the Public Commissioner against decision no. 754, dated 05.04.2024, of the Independent Qualification Commission related to the assessee Mirela Mishgjoni.

At the conclusion of the trial, the trial panel, pursuant to Article 66, paragraph 1 (b) of Law no. 84/2016, “On the transitional re-evaluation of judges and prosecutors in the Republic of Albania”, by a unanimous vote, decided:

– The amendment of decision no. 754, dated 05.04.2024 of the Independent Qualification Commission and the dismissal from office of the assessee Mirela Mishgjoni.

– This decision is final and effective immediately.

Announced in Tirana, today, on 03.04.2025.

On Tuesday, 29.04.2025, at 10:00, the Appeal Chamber shall consider in camera case (JR) no. 2/2024, dated 09.01.2024, pertaining to the appeal of the assessee Mustafa Turku against decision no. 708, dated 26.10.2023, of the Independent Qualification Commission.

The trial panel of this case shall consist of judges:

Presiding: Rezarta Schuetz

Rapporteur: Ina Rama

Members: Mimoza Tasi, Natasha Mulaj, Sokol Çomo

The hearing in camera shall take place at the premises of the Appeal Chamber, at Boulevard “Dëshmorët e Kombit”, no. 3, Tirana.

The Appeal Chamber held on 04.04.2025, at 09:00, the public hearing of case (JR) 27/2022, dated 17.06.2022, pertaining to the appeal of the Public Commissioner against decision no. 521, dated 01.04.2022 of the Independent Qualification Commission, related to the assessee Erjon Shehaj.

The presiding judge announced that the assessee had submitted with the Chamber several acts, which he was invited during the previous hearing to submit them in the form required by law. These acts were also made available to the Head of the Special Prosecution Office, Mr. Altin Dumani, before the hearing.

The presiding judge also informed that a new public denunciation had been received by the Chamber before the hearing, which had been forwarded to the parties at trial before the hearing. The Head of the Special Prosecution Office had also been forwarded in advance the written position of the assessee regarding this denunciation.

With regard to the acts, Mr. Dumani maintained that they had been lodged in the form required by law, while with respect to the denunciation, he stated that it contains no grounds that would require further investigation. In this context, the legal representative of the assessee reiterated the position that the latter had not addressed issues related to this denunciation, consequently the denunciation failed to meet the legal criteria to be investigated by the Chamber.

The trial panel decided to accept as evidence the acts submitted by the assessee, and not to open an investigation on the denunciation, as it assessed that it failed to include the elements required by Article 53 of Law 84/2016 “On the transitional re-evaluation of judges and prosecutors in the Republic of Albania”.

Once the parties declared that they had no other procedural requests, the trial panel decided to close the judicial investigation of the case and invited them to submit their final conclusions.

During the submission of the final conclusions, the Head of the Special Prosecution office stated that he stands by the appeal grounds and requested that the shortcomings found in the proficiency and ethics criteria of the assessee be taken into consideration in the overall evaluation of the case in accordance with Article 4, paragraph 2 of Law no. 84/2016, in conjunction with Article 61, paragraph 5 thereof. Finally, Mr. Dumani requested the amendment of decision no. 521, dated 1.4.2022, of the Independent Qualification Commission and the dismissal from office of the assessee, Mr. Erjon Shehaj.

The assessee, through his legal representative, maintained the same position on the appeal, claiming that there are no arguments as to how the proficiency assessment indicator and, even more so, the public’s trust in justice could have been violated. According to him, the circumstances identified for the proficiency assessment could be taken into consideration in the overall evaluation of the case for all three evaluation criteria and not in the specific case, when no appeal grounds have been raised against the assessee for the other two criteria, asset and background assessment. Finally, the legal representative of the assessee requested the upholding of decision no. 521, dated

01.04.2022 of the Independent Qualification Commission, as a fair decision, supported on evidence and law.

After hearing the final arguments of the parties, the trial panel withdrew to make the final decision on the case, which it shall announce on 09.04.2025, at 15:00.

The public hearing shall take place at the premises of the Appeal Chamber, at Boulevard “Dëshmorët e Kombit”, no. 3, Tirana.

On Wednesday, 07.05.2025, at 10:00, the Appeal Chamber shall consider in camera case (JR) no. 46/2022, dated 19.10.2022, pertaining to the appeal of the assessee Alfred Sali against decision no. 555, dated 22.07.2022 of the Independent Qualification Commission.

The trial panel of this case shall consist of the following judges:

Presiding: Natasha Mulaj

Rapporteur: Albana Shtylla

Members: Mimoza Tasi, Rezarta Schuetz, Sokol Çomo

The hearing in camera shall take place at the premises of the Appeal Chamber, at Boulevard “Dëshmorët e Kombit”, no. 3, Tirana.

On Wednesday, 09.04.2025, at 10:00, the Appeal Chamber shall consider in a public hearing case (JR) no. 25/2024, dated 03.07.2024, pertaining to the appeal of the Public Commissioner against decision no. 760, dated 26.04.2024 of the Independent Qualification Commission no, related to the assessee Ardiana Bera.

The trial panel of this case shall consist of judges:

Presiding: Rezarta Schuetz

Rapporteur: Mimoza Tasi

Members: Albana Shtylla, Natasha Mulaj, Sokol Çomo

The public hearing shall take place at the premises of the Appeal Chamber, at Boulevard “Dëshmorët e Kombit”, no. 3, Tirana.

The Appeal Chamber held on 04.04.2025, at 09:00, the public hearing of case (JR) 27/2022, dated 17.06.2022, pertaining to the appeal of the Public Commissioner against decision no. 521, dated 01.04.2022 of the Independent Qualification Commission, related to the assessee Erjon Shehaj.

The presiding judge announced that the assessee had submitted with the Chamber several acts, which he was invited during the previous hearing to submit them in the form required by law. These acts were also made available to the Head of the Special Prosecution Office, Mr. Altin Dumani, before the hearing.

The presiding judge also informed that a new public denunciation had been received by the Chamber before the hearing, which had been forwarded to the parties at trial before the hearing. The Head of the Special Prosecution Office had also been forwarded in advance the written position of the assessee regarding this denunciation.

With regard to the acts, Mr. Dumani maintained that they had been lodged in the form required by law, while with respect to the denunciation, he stated that it contains no grounds that would require further investigation. In this context, the legal representative of the assessee reiterated the position that the latter had not addressed issues related to this denunciation, consequently the denunciation failed to meet the legal criteria to be investigated by the Chamber.

The trial panel decided to accept as evidence the acts submitted by the assessee, and not to open an investigation on the denunciation, as it assessed that it failed to include the elements required by Article 53 of Law 84/2016 “On the transitional re-evaluation of judges and prosecutors in the Republic of Albania”.

Once the parties declared that they had no other procedural requests, the trial panel decided to close the judicial investigation of the case and invited them to submit their final conclusions.

During the submission of the final conclusions, the Head of the Special Prosecution office stated that he stands by the appeal grounds and requested that the shortcomings found in the proficiency and ethics criteria of the assessee be taken into consideration in the overall evaluation of the case in accordance with Article 4, paragraph 2 of Law no. 84/2016, in conjunction with Article 61, paragraph 5 thereof. Finally, Mr. Dumani requested the amendment of decision no. 521, dated 1.4.2022, of the Independent Qualification Commission and the dismissal from office of the assessee, Mr. Erjon Shehaj.

The assessee, through his legal representative, maintained the same position on the appeal, claiming that there are no arguments as to how the proficiency assessment indicator and, even more so, the public’s trust in justice could have been violated. According to him, the circumstances identified for the proficiency assessment could be taken into consideration in the overall evaluation of the case for all three evaluation criteria and not in the specific case, when no appeal grounds have been raised against the assessee for the other two criteria, asset and background assessment. Finally, the legal representative of the assessee requested the upholding of decision no. 521, dated

01.04.2022 of the Independent Qualification Commission, as a fair decision, supported on evidence and law.

After hearing the final arguments of the parties, the trial panel withdrew to make the final decision on the case, which it shall announce on 09.04.2025, at 15:00.

The public hearing shall take place at the premises of the Appeal Chamber, at Boulevard “Dëshmorët e Kombit”, no. 3, Tirana.

On Thursday, 10.04.2025, at 10:00, the Appeal Chamber shall consider in chambers case (JR) no. 21/2023, dated 23.05.2023, pertaining to the appeal of the assessee Rexhina Merlika against decision no. 635, dated 13.03.2023 of the Independent Qualification Commission.

The trial panel of this case shall consist of judges:

Presiding: Albana Shtylla

Rapporteur: Natasha Mulaj

Members: Mimoza Tasi, Rezarta Schuetz, Sokol Çomo

The hearing in chambers shall take place at the premises of the Appeal Chamber, at Boulevard “Dëshmorët e Kombit”, no. 3, Tirana.

On Tuesday, 22.04.2025, at 10:00, the Appeal Chamber shall consider in chambers case (JR) no. 32/2022, dated 14.07.2022, pertaining to the appeal of the assessee Arian Ndoja against decision no. 528, dated 06.05.2022 of the Independent Qualification Commission.

The trial panel of this case shall consist of judges:

Presiding: Natasha Mulaj

Rapporteur: Sokol Çomo

Members: Albana Shtylla, Ina Rama, Mimoza Tasi

The hearing in chambers shall take place in the premises of the Appeal Chamber, at Boulevard “Dëshmorët e Kombit”, no. 3, Tirana.

The Appeal Chamber held on 02.04.2025, at 13:00, the public hearing of case (JR) 41/2024, dated 21.10.2024, pertaining to the appeal of the Public Commissioner against decision no. 762, dated 15.05.2024, of the Independent Qualification Commission, related to the assessee Afrim Shehu.

The presiding judge announced that Article 179/b, paragraph 8 of the Constitution of the Republic of Albania and Article 199 of the Civil Procedure Code have set forth the transfer of powers from the Public Commissioner to the Head of the Special Prosecution Office, represented in this trial upon special authorization by the prosecutor of the Special Prosecution Office, Mr. Klodian Braho, present at the hearing.

The legal representative of the assessee considered Mr. Braho’s authorization to be well-founded and the trial panel legitimized his presence at this hearing.

Mr. Braho stated that he had waived the appeal grounds related to the proficiency assessment criterion and continued with the submission of the appeal grounds related to the asset assessment criterion. He held that the assessee had failed to prove the legitimacy of the source of creation of his assets nor prove the opposite of the burden of proof for this criterion. The representative of the Special Prosecution Office requested the amendment of the IQC decision no. 762, dated 15.05.2024, and the dismissal from office of the assessee Afrim Shehu.

The assessee and his legal representative disputed the appeal grounds and filed documents in support of their claims, which they requested the trial panel to accept them as evidence. With regard to this request, Mr. Klodian Braho maintained that he found no formal impediments to the administration of the documents.

The presiding judge of the trial panel requested the parties to take a position regarding three public complaints, two of which had been forwarded to the Public Commissioners Institution before the submission of the appeal against the decision subject to consideration, and no appeal grounds had been raised in their regard. These complaints were subsequently forwarded to the Chamber by the Public Commissioners Institution. The representative of the Special Prosecution Office stated that none of them contained grounds for further investigation. The assessee provided explanations and submitted new documents regarding the issues raised in the complaints.

After being consulted, the trial panel decided to open the judicial investigation of the case and accept as evidence all the documents filed by the assessee, except for the financial analysis of the years 2009 – 2016, which is already part of the case file.

The trial panel decided not to open an investigation on the public complaints, and once the parties stated that they had no procedural requests, decided to close the judicial investigation and invited them to submit their final conclusions.

Given that the representative of the Special Prosecution Office requested time to prepare the final conclusions, it was decided to postpone the hearing to 22.04.2025, at 11:30.

The public hearing shall take place at the premises of the Appeal Chamber, at Boulevard “Dëshmorët e Kombit”, no. 3, Tirana.

On Wednesday, 23.04.2025, at 10:00, the Appeal Chamber shall consider in chambers case (JR) no. 31/2022, dated 13.07.2022, pertaining to the appeal of the assessee Emror Kasaj against decision no. 529, dated 09.05.2022 of the Independent Qualification Commission.

The trial panel of this case shall consist of judges:

Presiding: Rezarta Schuetz

Rapporteur: Albana Shtylla

Members: Ina Rama, Natasha Mulaj, Sokol Çomo

The hearing in chambers shall take place at the premises of the Appeal Chamber, at Boulevard “Dëshmorët e Kombit”, no. 3, Tirana.

On Thursday, 24.04.2025, at 10:00, the Appeal Chamber shall consider in chambers case (JR) no. 47/2022, dated 01.11.2022, pertaining to the appeal of the assessee Bajram Breçani against decision no. 558, dated 06.09.2022 of the Independent Qualification Commission.

The trial panel for the hearing of this case shall consist of judges:

Presiding: Ina Rama

Rapporteur: Sokol Çomo

Members: Mimoza Tasi, Natasha Mulaj, Rezarta Schuetz

The hearing in chambers shall take place at the premises of the Appeal Chamber, at Boulevard “Dëshmorët e Kombit”, no. 3, Tirana.

On Tuesday, 29.04.2025, at 10:00, the Appeal Chamber shall consider in camera case (JR) no. 2/2024, dated 09.01.2024, pertaining to the appeal of the assessee Mustafa Turku against decision no. 708, dated 26.10.2023, of the Independent Qualification Commission.

The trial panel of this case shall consist of judges:

Presiding: Rezarta Schuetz

Rapporteur: Ina Rama

Members: Mimoza Tasi, Natasha Mulaj, Sokol Çomo

The hearing in camera shall take place at the premises of the Appeal Chamber, at Boulevard “Dëshmorët e Kombit”, no. 3, Tirana.