Today, the program for the international competition of the Justice Center was presented, a new urban hub of buildings for the justice system, conceived as a necessity for the further support of judicial power.
The Justice Campus constitutes the largest and most modern investment of the Albanian state dedicated to a single purpose, the delivery of justice for all, with contemporary capacities for the judiciary and supporting staff, and easily accessible spaces for citizens seeking justice.
The Justice Campus is the most sophisticated architectural and engineering undertaking ever realized. The establishment of the new home of the Justice institutions aims to modernize the physical and spatial dimension of Albania’s justice institutions, in order to enable the continued fulfillment of their objectives, in dignified, transparent, and contemporary conditions, worthy of a fair, transparent, efficient, and deeply European state.
Today’s event, attended by Prime Minister Rama together with the Minister of Justice Lamallari, served as the final consultation hearing with representatives of the judiciary prior to the announcement of the competition.
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Prime Minister Edi Rama:
Thank you very much. The overall picture of this journey we have decided to undertake is clear, to provide Albania with a new justice center that not only guarantees all the necessary conditions and standards for those who work there but also represents an added value for the capital and for Albania from an architectural standpoint.
A famous architect once said, “We shape our buildings, and our buildings shape us.” If you consider the kind of buildings in which we have been shaped, you understand why we are somewhat like constructions half with a permit and half without one, in the way we think and function. That is why it is extremely important to create something that withstands time, while finally addressing the complex problems the system faces in terms of working conditions.
Unfortunately, the legacy in this regard is highly problematic for everyone, not only for the justice system. Even today, we have a considerable number of institutions that are tenants in private buildings and spaces.
We have initiated a process that will lead us, step by step, toward a definitive solution to this issue, through the Albanian Investment Corporation, by taking all remaining state-owned properties in Tirana and elsewhere, even in small parcels, and placing them at the service of the public interest. This has fundamentally changed the government’s approach. We no longer sell or transfer even the smallest parcel in favor of private investors in Tirana. On the contrary, we seek the state, like private owners, to benefit from its assets. In this way, several projects are now nearing the finalization of contracts, through which, over the coming years, we will secure offices and spaces to carry out the administrative functions of the executive branch.
In the case of the new Justice Center, however, I believe the situation is different. It cannot be included in this process and must be financed directly from the state budget. It is undoubtedly the largest financing ever made for administrative infrastructure in the Republic of Albania. We strongly believe it is the right one. Today, the conditions are in place, and in my view, a series of necessary reasons have been fulfilled to undertake it. Following a very profound reform in justice, each side must continue to fulfill its duties. You know and carry out your responsibilities. Our responsibility is to continue supporting the system and to ensure it operates under the highest standards and conditions, which cannot be said today if we consider the conditions in which judges and prosecutors work, the cramped and inadequate spaces where proceedings are held, and how far behind the system remains in terms of technology.
I would like to clarify something here, because it is crucial to understand this properly. Without a correct understanding, there can be no meaningful progress in providing the system with technology, as we have done and continue to do in the executive branch.
We achieved this by building a network of professionals with the proper qualifications who function as a unified body in developing institutional technology.
Previously, we were in a very difficult situation where each institution built its own model and its own system. We spent significant funds and produced a rather absurd result, a collection of isolated kiosks that did not interact with one another. By creating a professional network operating under a shared vision and centralizing the necessary data to ensure interoperability, we have now achieved a completely different approach.
The same must occur in your system. We experienced catastrophic delays in judicial case management because we could not agree on how to approach the system. Our position was simple. The language must be the same, even if the books are separate. Independence of the justice system cannot justify building a completely independent technological system that cannot communicate with others and therefore cannot process the data it requires.
It may sound absurd, and it is. Yet years were lost and funds were wasted because of this conceptual conflict.
The governance bodies of the judiciary have an important role to play here, and they must fulfill it. However, interaction with the broader system of the Republic of Albania is indispensable. We all draw water from the same source, though each, everyone opens and closes the tap according to their own needs. Independence does not mean that each of us builds our own hydroelectric plant or water utility. This is the concept, and it is essential to ensure that this project functions from this perspective as well.
The reason I believe we will achieve the best possible outcome is that, as you know, the process began approximately six months ago and has been built entirely on direct input from all key institutional representatives, to present all needs clearly within the design task.
Following this presentation, as Delina mentioned, the planning agency will conduct a second round of consultations with you and others involved, to review what should be reconsidered in the general plan before it proceeds to the international competition.
We are fortunate that Albania currently hosts, as part of its transformation, the largest concentration of internationally renowned architects one can find in a single country. While they work in many countries, rarely are so many concentrated in one place. Our competitions meet the highest international standards in terms of creative approaches. Thereafter, we will move to the implementation phase.
The area envisioned for the new Justice Center will require expropriation in the public interest. I hope the judges who handle the expropriation cases will not be overly generous in increasing compensation, as they often are, because ultimately these are the same funds that are also sought to increase salaries.
I wish to emphasize that today we have opportunities that did not exist ten or even five years ago. From the perspective of investment volume, this is an extraordinary undertaking. It is truly a major financial commitment, considering expropriations, construction, furnishing, and everything necessary to create a place where every prosecutor and judge, upon entering, feels like the most honored person in the Republic. Not only in principle, but through the walls, the environment, the office space, everything should be communicated each morning: you are privileged by this state and this Republic, because it is a privilege to do the work you do.
For this purpose, we will make this effort. For us, this is a commitment that does not stop and does not turn back, regardless of the occasional surprises you present us with. These are part of life, part of your internal processes, and part of the growth of a new system that requires time to consolidate.
And to conclude, this is the ideal occasion for all of us together, now that you are also involved, to go to pretrial detention for abuse of office.
Thank you very much.
