Compensation Scheme of Former Political Prisoners in Albania, as a Matter of Transitional (in) Justice

Abstract

The change of the political and legal system in Albania gave birth to the great hope, not only of the triumph of dignity, but also of the correction of injustices towards former political prisoners. In Albania, from 1991 to 2008, a series of legal measures addressed the issue of former political prisoners. Their purpose was not only to legally consider punishment for crimes of a political nature as unjust, but also to award compensation. But, in the span of 17 years they remained a formal statement on paper, an inadequate legal solution that in very few cases became effective. At the beginning of 2008, with the entry into force of the law on the compensation of former political convicts, an administrative compensation process was sanctioned that offered a reasonable solution in terms of time and amount of compensation. However, the subsequent legal changes recognized the right of the state to carry out a compensation process based on budgetary possibilities and did not condition the realization of this process in terms of time. The paper aims to analyze the concept of transitional justice in international and domestic law, highlighting its main instruments, as well as focusing on compensation for former political prisoners in Albania. The work through the analytical and comparative method supports the hypothesis that the compensation of political prisoners designed as an effective tool for correcting the injustice caused during the years of communism is bringing back new injustices, which are incompatible with the principle of the rule of law and human rights. The compensation scheme for political convicts in Albania has created not only legal uncertainty regarding the time of compensation, but also such a duration can lead to inequality and discrimination. The paper recommends the need for immediate legal changes to build a fair, fast and effective compensation mechanism.

Received: 05 May 2022 / Accepted: 16 May 2023 / Published: 20 May 2023