almanac on security sector oversight in the Western Balkans

Albania
276
Despite endeavors to promote transparency of security sector institutions by
establishing primary legislation enshrined in the Law on Access to Official
Documents, 12 years after the adoption of this law, vertical harmonization of
the legal framework has yet to be accomplished. Rarely do organic laws refer
to transparency standards while private bodies exercising public functions,
such as PSCs, are not included in the scope of the existing law. The situation is
not promising- we refer to the implementation of the law on access to official
information, despite progress in establishing administrative capacities during
recent years. Although citizens have become more aware of the application
of this law, reports show problems in obtaining information from public and
governmental institutions. As a consequence, the lack of unified institutional
standards related to transparency practices in security sector institutions has led
to a fragmented approach to transparency standards.
Recommendations
• Revise current legislation on access to information in order to provide
guarantees in regards to the right of citizens for access to official data, as
well as public authorities’ obligation to release timely and comprehensive
information.
• Current legislation on transparency should be harmonized in the organic laws
of all security sector institutions, with no exceptions.
• Security sector institutions should apply the ‘public-interest test’ to evaluate
the government’s classification concerns while the Law on Access to Official
Information should take prevalence: transparency is the rule, classification is
the exception
• The Law on Access to Official Documents should clarify obligations concerning
transparency of statutory private security bodies exercising public
functions.
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY grade: 2
Executive Summary
As a result of the EU integration processes, during the last few years there has
been an effort to improve financial transparency but results have been mixed.
Recently adopted legislation on a budget management system meets most
international standards but still lacks provisions for ensuring full transparency
along all four stages of the budget process. Due to poor implementation of
legislation, financial transparency in Albania remains at very low levels. Some
important documents regarding transparency are not published or are not
made available to the public while the quality of information provided is poor.
The adoption of secondary legislation has been slow while poor harmonisation
has made implementation more difficult. Administrative capacities are
generally in place but qualifications, levels of professional independence and
cooperation among the structures involved in the four stages of the budgetary
process are still poor. The security sector abides by the general regulatory
framework but it reflects the overall problems of the system.
Regarding transparency in public procurement, the legal framework has been
revised, aiming to comply with EU directives. Nevertheless, the legislation only
partially approximates the ‘acquis communautaire.’ The introduction of new
procedures and oversight mechanisms established for control of the public
procurement system brought new developments in regards to institutional