1st judge in Albania dismissed under vetting law

TIRANA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The Independent Qualification Commission (IQC) that was set up to vet around 800 judges and prosecutors in Albania's justice system, decided Friday it would dismiss from office Fatos Lulo, a Constitutional Court judge.

Lulo's dismissal marks the first results given by the vetting law, the main law of the justice reform package deemed crucial for Albania's integration into the European Union (EU).

IQC chairman Genta Tafa said at a Friday session that the IQC had decided to dismiss Lulo from his position at the Constitutional Court after the judge failed to justify his assets, which included 480,000 U.S. dollars to buy an apartment in Canada, and another gift of 100,000 U.S. dollars that his lawyer said he received from his sister.

Besides this, Lulo was also accused of not paying his taxes between 1994 and 1997.

In a response on Facebook, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama highly praised the IQC decision, saying it was only the beginning of the journey to clean up the Albanian justice system.

"All Albanians who strongly support the vetting should feel good today because the start has been good. After 17 judges and prosecutors left before the vetting could start, the process started and the first one who was interrogated couldn't justify his assets and he 'fell'. I am convinced that you haven't seen anything yet," the prime minister wrote after the publication of the IQC decision.

The complete verdict will be published within 30 days, after which Lulo can file an appeal.

The vetting law is being implemented under the monitoring of international observers.

According to the law, there are about 800 judges and prosecutors of the Albanian justice system who will undergo a scanning of their professional and ethical re-evaluation. Enditem