Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09TIRANA114
2009-02-19 12:22:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Tirana
Cable title:  

CONSTITUTIONAL COURT EFFECTIVELY KILLS LUSTRATION

Tags:  KJUS KDEM PREL PGOV AL 
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RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO PRIORITY 3547
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE PRIORITY 2453
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
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RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
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)

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