CONSTITUTIONAL COURT EFFECTIVELY KILLS LUSTRATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TIRANA 000114 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/19/2018 TAGS: KJUS KDEM PREL PGOV AL SUBJECT: CONSTITUTIONAL COURT EFFECTIVELY KILLS LUSTRATION LAW Classified By: Ambassador John L. Withers, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: The February 16 decision by the Constitutional Court to suspend the Lustration Law pending a full review by the Court and then to refer it to the Venice Commission for review effectively kills the Law and ensures that it will almost certainly never be implemented as drafted and passed by the Parliament. PM Berisha's statement that he would accept the Court's decision - a clear backtrack from his earlier insistence to ignore a Court decision - also signaled a near-certain end to the Law. Numerous contacts have told the Embassy that in the past two weeks the momentum on the Constitutional Court shifted dramatically against the Lustration Law, due in large part to an outpouring of opposition to the law by the international community - opposition that convinced many within Albania and on the Court that Berisha was isolated because of his hard-line support for the controversial bill. However, our sources also predict that the Prime Minister will almost certainly now seek other ways to pressure the Supreme Court and prosecutors in an effort to blunt the effects of several high-profile investigations and trials between now and the June parliamentary elections. END SUMMARY. Lustration Law Essentially Dead -------------- ¶2. (C) The decision by the Constitutional Court to both suspend the Lustration Law pending a full review and then to refer the Law to the Venice Commission for further review essentially kills the controversial law. Given the Law's numerous constitutional and legal flaws, it is highly unlikely the bill will survive the Venice Commission's scrutiny in any recognizable form. It remains uncertain how long the Constitutional Court will take to review the bill. But What Else Does Berisha Have Up His Sleeve? -------------- - ¶3. (C) The suspension of the Lustration Law and, more importantly, the decision to refer the law to the Venice Commission, marked a serious political defeat for Prime Minister Berisha. Berisha had pushed a very hard line in support of the Law and had ignored repeated private and public appeals from the U.S., Council of Europe, EU and OSCE regarding the Law. Statements in recent weeks by Berisha's proxies in the Parliament signaled as well that Berisha was preparing to ignore any Constitutional Court ruling, citing an alleged "conflict of interest" on the part of the Court. ¶4. (C) Despite his statement that he will accept the Court ruling, Berisha is unlikely to back down from his ultimate goal of blunting the political damage resulting from the ongoing Gerdec, Kukes-Durres road project, and Fazlic investigations and trials. It is likely that Berisha will now seek other ways to pressure prosecutors and the Supreme Court, which will soon open the abuse of office trial against Foreign Minister Basha and will be the primary battleground for the upcoming Gerdec trials. ¶5. (C) COMMENT: The suspension of the Lustration Law was a significant victory for the rule of law and democracy in Albania, but is only one battle in an ongoing war between Albania's fragile independent institutions and those in the government, like the Prime Minister, who would prefer a more pliant and obedient judicial system. Between now and the June elections, the pressure on prosecutors and the courts will remain intense, as Berisha seeks to avoid serious political fallout that could damage his prospects for re-election. ¶6. (C) COMMENT CONT'D: It is not lost on commentators here that it was Albania's oft-maligned Constitutional Court that "rescued" the government, spearheaded by PM Berisha and Parliament Speaker Jozefina Topalli, from forcing this clearly unconstitutional and undemocratic law on the country only a few weeks before the NATO summit. It is discouraging that the Lustration Law sago so transparently revealed the government's readiness to jettison such key democratic principles as the rule of law, the separation of powers, and indeed the primacy of the constitution to achieve short-term political aims. In contrast, however, we should be encouraged that institutions such as the Constitutional Court and the Prosecutor General's Office now insist on exercising TIRANA 00000114 002 OF 002 the independence that is rightfully theirs. In so doing - ironically - they have no doubt saved the PM and his government from their worst instincts as they prepare for the Strasbourg NATO summit in April. WITHERS