Individual Assessment of Judges in Albania - A General Overview and Comparative Analysis of Career Advancement and Reward Systems Based on Performance Evaluation

Abstract

Assessment of judges in itself is one of the criteria in relation to the establishment of specific rules for the career of judges, creation of a healthy judicial system and a proper one. Professional Assessment process of judges based on objective, clear and transparent criteria, has a great importance for the consolidation of judicial power, because on its base, transfer and promotions of judges are performed only on the basis of individual merit. Considering the fact that the approximation of the Albanian legislation with the European one, has become a task of the Albanian legislator, the draft “On the evaluation system of judicial activity in RA” deserves special attention.This article takes in a comparative analysis the current law “On the individual assessment of judges in Albania” and the draft law “On the evaluation system of judicial activity in RA”. The main attention of the analysis focuses on some basic elements for evaluation of the judges, pointing to some basic procedures relevant and necessary in relation to the performance and their role in the process of administering justice in our country. In the analysis of this draft law we will mainly focus on the establishment of procedures, principles and criteria for professional and ethical assessment of the judges of courts of first instance and courts of appeal that predicts the draftlaw. In the following the article is focused on a comparative view of the assessment criteria, according to the Italian model. Analysis of the Italian system of individual assessment of judges may highlight on some the practical aspects of the most suitable model of assessment to be implemented in Albania.