Documents library

The scope of this Joint Opinion covers only the constitutional and legislative revisions officially submitted for review (“the amendments”). In particular, it will not address the amendments brought by law No. 101/2020 adopted on 23 July 2020. Thus limited, the Joint Opinion does not constitute a full and comprehensive review of the entire legal and institutional framework governing elections in Albania.

The Note raises key issues and provides indications of areas that often cause concern. The Note also highlights, as appropriate, good practices from other OSCE participating States.

The Comments raise key issues and indicate areas of possible refinement. In the interest of conciseness, they focus more on areas that require amendments or improvements than on the positive aspects of the law or rules of procedure.

This report seeks to provide guidance to address challenges for the functioning of courts during pandemic related states of emergency, curfews and lockdowns.

The scope of this Note deals exclusively with the issue of parliamentary inquiries into the work of the judiciary with a view to identifying relevant international standards and OSCE human dimension commitments.

The aim of this Urgent Note is to inform and contribute to the legal debate on the issue by providing an overview of international and regional standards, norms and recommendations, as well as relevant OSCE human dimension commitments. The Note also lays down comparative practices from other OSCE participating States on this issue.

The Opinion raises key issues and provides indications of areas of concern. In the interest of conciseness, the Opinion focuses more on those provisions that require improvements than on the positive aspects of the Draft Amendments. The ensuing recommendations are based on international and regional standards, norms and practices as well as relevant OSCE human dimension commitments.

The Joint Opinion takes note of positive developments but focuses on areas that require further attention or improvements in the draft Law. The ensuing recommendations are based on relevant OSCE commitments, Council of Europe and other international human rights standards, such as the Venice Commission Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters.