almanac on security sector oversight in the Western Balkans

Albania
Grades
Table: Measuring Three Criteria of SSR in the Western Balkans
PARLIAMENTARY CONTROL AND OVERSIGHT grade: 2
Executive Summary
Control and oversight of the security sector by parliament in Albania is generally
formal and ineffective. The constitution lays down provisions for parliamentary
control and oversight of the executive branch but implementation is
partial. Parliament controls the adoption of legislation, policies and budgets
but only partially oversees implementation. In addition, parliament endorses
the executive’s proposals with little or no substantial input. Laws on security
sector institutions lay down accountability provisions but no legislation exists
to regulate the interaction of parliament with these institutions in the
implementation process. Incomplete legal frameworks and poor practice have
precluded the development of administrative capabilities able to adequately
support oversight processes. There are three permanent committees which
perform control and oversight functions but their coordination is poor. The
failure of parliament to effectively fulfil its mandate has led to the emergence
of the executive branch as the main, rather unbalanced power in control of the
security institutions.
Recommendations
• Legislation should be adopted in order to allow parliament to take a more
independent position and balance the influence of the executive branch.
• Legislation should be adopted in order to provide standard parliamentary
oversight procedures of all security institutions.
• Parliament should improve administrative capacities that support parliamentary
committees.
• The permanent committees responsible for control and oversight of security
actors should be better coordinated.
• Current legislation should be amended to allow for parliament to be substantially
involved in the planning process of the budget of security actors.
• Current legislation should be revised to provide parliament with a precise
role in the control of the arms’ trade.
GENERAL TRANSPARENCY grade: 2
Executive Summary
Efforts to increase transparency of public institutions in Albania during the last
10 years have been characterized by both progress and obstacles. The new legal
framework has brought important improvements in transparency practices
but still needs revisions and clarifications in order to provide a clear scheme
of exceptions for the non-disclosure of public information, protection for
“whistleblowers” and systems to promote better record maintenance. On the
other hand, conflicts can be identified in the Law on Access to Official Information
and the Law on Information Classified State Secret, as the latter fails to
acknowledge society’s right to know about issues of public interest that might
override the government’s classification. Furthermore, classification of information
as well as the process of declassification of data remains non-transparent
and hidden from the public.
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Almanac on Security Sector Oversight in the Western Balkans