Perspectives of Albanian Criminal Procedural Legislation in the Context of European Union Integration

Abstract

The judicial cooperation in the criminal field is based on the solidarity principle between different countries, where each state should assist and at the same time be assisted in fulfilling the primary obligation of criminal offences prevention, offering justice and execution of criminal sentences. To fulfill the mission of a common justice, each of the countries should contribute to realize it even if it would harm any specific interests of a certain country. Thanks to such collaboration it is possible to realize criminal justice, so that the authors of criminal offenses regardless the place where they are sheltered or where they have committed their criminal activity, come before justice and at the same time receive and execute the relevant conviction. Basing on the above mentioned and trying to give a definition to the notion of judicial collaboration in the criminal field, we would consider that it represents “the legal relationship”, which is established between the states, in all cases when the competent authorities of criminal proceeding are not capable to act beyond the terrestrial jurisdiction where they fulfill their functions, because of location of the author of criminal offense or of the crime scene. In these circumstances, in all forms of judicial cooperation, the subjects of legal relation are the state which asks for establishment of this collaboration (defined as requiring state) and the state to which this collaboration is required to (defined as the required state). The judicial collaboration in criminal field includes these forms or real mechanisms a) extradition, b) mutual legal assistance c) transfer of criminal proceedings, d) recognition and execution of foreign criminal sentences. The main means of judicial collaboration to which is paid a special importance in such collaboration is the institute of extradition which results to be the most applicable form by various states. In this paperwork the focus will also include the study of the newest form of judicial relation between EU member countries, like the European Arrest Warrant, which is based on the principle of mutual recognition of sentences. In the context of Albanian state accession perspective in common European space, it is worthy to recall that one of the obligations Albania has undertaken, is the general legislation harmonization and especially the criminal procedural one. In conformity with requirements of European Union, Albanian legislator has to undertake real steps to unify the legislation and one of the principal fields are the instruments of judicial cooperation in criminal field, for which the actual legislation is not sufficient. DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2014.v3n1p179