OSCE Presence in Albania sees approval of property law as 'step towards solution'
Ambassador Osmo Lipponen, Head of the OSCE Presence in Albania. (Ayhan Evrensel/OSCE) Photo details
TIRANA, 9 June 2004 - The OSCE Presence in Albania considers yesterday's approval of the Law on Restitution and Compensation of Property by the Albanian Assembly as part of the process for reaching a final solution to the property issue.
"After several inconclusive attempts to approve a property law, an important step was achieved yesterday," said Ambassador Osmo Lipponen, Head of the OSCE Presence. "We commend the positive political and professional climate that was shown throughout the year-long drafting process and review of the law in the Parliamentary Committees."
Ambassador Lipponen praised the important contributions made by Ylli Bufi, Head of the Economics, Finance and Privatization Committee, Jemin Gjana, Head of the Agriculture and Food Committee and Spartak Braho, Head of the Laws and Constitutional Matters Committee. "Their will to reach results and consensus on such a sensitive issue was a critical factor in the initial success of the process," he said.
"It is however unfortunate that the spirit of consensus broke down in the final hours of review of the draft law which resulted in a hasty approval of the final articles, without a full and open debate on the issues," he added.
The OSCE Head underlined that some of the problems included changes introduced late in the plenary debates that were not fully explained or discussed prior to voting. One issue of concern highlighted was the broad powers that have been granted to the State Committee for Restitution and Compensation, which could increase the opportunity for abuse and create new conflicts over property unless relevant limitations to the Committee's power are clarified. Also, the article that limits restitution and compensation of agricultural land to 60 hectares was introduced for vote at the end of the plenary session, after review of all other articles was complete.
Ambassador Lipponen expressed further concern that some of the main principles agreed upon during the Parliamentary Committee review process have not been respected and this may jeopardize the trust in the law's implementation. He added that the process used to review and amend the draft during the final hours of debate should have been done in a more transparent and consensual manner, such as by distributing an integral text before the final vote.
Ambassador Lipponen stressed that the Presence remained committed to providing further support to the Government of Albania for the appropriate implementation of the law. He said that, at the request of the Speaker of the Assembly, the Presence would continue to assist the State Committee for Restitution and Compensation in drafting sub-legal acts and monitor the implementation process to ensure transparency in the restitution and compensation programme. He announced that the Presence already had concrete plans how to support this implementation.
"After several inconclusive attempts to approve a property law, an important step was achieved yesterday," said Ambassador Osmo Lipponen, Head of the OSCE Presence. "We commend the positive political and professional climate that was shown throughout the year-long drafting process and review of the law in the Parliamentary Committees."
Ambassador Lipponen praised the important contributions made by Ylli Bufi, Head of the Economics, Finance and Privatization Committee, Jemin Gjana, Head of the Agriculture and Food Committee and Spartak Braho, Head of the Laws and Constitutional Matters Committee. "Their will to reach results and consensus on such a sensitive issue was a critical factor in the initial success of the process," he said.
"It is however unfortunate that the spirit of consensus broke down in the final hours of review of the draft law which resulted in a hasty approval of the final articles, without a full and open debate on the issues," he added.
The OSCE Head underlined that some of the problems included changes introduced late in the plenary debates that were not fully explained or discussed prior to voting. One issue of concern highlighted was the broad powers that have been granted to the State Committee for Restitution and Compensation, which could increase the opportunity for abuse and create new conflicts over property unless relevant limitations to the Committee's power are clarified. Also, the article that limits restitution and compensation of agricultural land to 60 hectares was introduced for vote at the end of the plenary session, after review of all other articles was complete.
Ambassador Lipponen expressed further concern that some of the main principles agreed upon during the Parliamentary Committee review process have not been respected and this may jeopardize the trust in the law's implementation. He added that the process used to review and amend the draft during the final hours of debate should have been done in a more transparent and consensual manner, such as by distributing an integral text before the final vote.
Ambassador Lipponen stressed that the Presence remained committed to providing further support to the Government of Albania for the appropriate implementation of the law. He said that, at the request of the Speaker of the Assembly, the Presence would continue to assist the State Committee for Restitution and Compensation in drafting sub-legal acts and monitor the implementation process to ensure transparency in the restitution and compensation programme. He announced that the Presence already had concrete plans how to support this implementation.