ACCESS TO JUSTICE SYSTEM AS AN EFFECTIVE ENJOYMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS: CHALLENGES FACED BY ROMA MINORITY IN ALBANIA

Abstract

Justice is viewed as an ideal of accountability and fairness implying that absence of to for all citizens undermines democratic governance.1 Thus, to is crucial for both, the rule of law and democracy2 because a n equa lly accessible syst em t o a ll can produce tangible results that are individually and socially just.3 As a constitutional right,4 it not only enables people to and substantively protect their rights with r elation to of her citizens in society5 but also ensur es t hat bot h, t he demand and supply sides of the system consistently harmonize their efforts not losing relevance to citizens' interests. From this standpoint, the system can be accessible in all its parts when the outcomes of seekers are just and equitable6 while their accessibility to system will be equally important and trusted through cooperation between services offered.7Traditiona lly, t o t he just ice system has been mor e focused on to per se rather than on the quality of itself. It mainly referred to those institutional arrangements which aimed to assure that people who lack resources to protect their legal rights and solve their law-related problems have to the system.8 From the rights-based approach, to system is important to protect people's rights and promote their social inclusion while barriers to reinforce poverty and social exclusion.9 Thus, to system should be seen from a holistic point of view. Being aware of cultural diversity, it should target new ways of achieving by directing attention to the real problems faced by people who experience legal events and reinforcing to information by supporting cultural change.10 The Roma population in Albania is recognized as ethno-linguistic minority in the Constitution of 1998 which guarantees people who belong to minorities exercise in full equality before the law, human rights and freedoms (Article 20).11 Moreover, since 1999, Albania ratified the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and it is committed to effectively protect them from discrimination providing equal opportunity and possibility to exercise their rights as well as equality before the law and equal protection by law.12But various monitoring reports of international institutions indicate that to system remains problematic and weak especially for socially excluded groups. So, in 2013, United Nations Human Rights Committee observed that legal procedures were long, corruption was spread within the judiciary while free legal aid was ineffective.13 The 5th Monitoring Cycle of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance recommended Albanian authorities to ensure effective to system for victims of discrimination through better funding and functioning of the legal aid system.14 Despite continuous recommendations made, there are limited efforts made by the Albanian government to address these weaknesses. On the other hand, there is a significant lack of research and comprehensive data about to system among vulnerable groups such as Roma population in Albania. Therefore, this research is important to identify problems faced by this socially excluded group to system in order to properly address them and improve its accessibility.To achieve its objective, this paper uses a bottom-up approach and a set of primary and secondary data to assess the accessibility of the system in Albania based on the perceptions of Roma minority. It views access to justice from a rights-based perspective assessing it from right holders in order to have a better understanding of their diverse barriers and difficulties faced to safeguard their rights and achieve justice. Targeting Roma community instead of institutional service providers, its purpose is twofold because this population represents an ethno-linguistic minority who, at one time, is subject to vulnerability, social exclusion and marginalization. …