Open Society Foundation for Albania

	13 February 2007 The Civil Society demands the relaxation of conflictuality of the election campaign 3 February 2007 Local elections 2007 online by the MJAFT Movement 30 January 2007 Seminar on “Improving public transportation in the region of Tirana” 23 Janauary 2007 Memorandum of civil society to protect its own constitutional rights 18 January 2007 Call of the civil society for a civilized election campaign 22 December 2007 Winners announced for the “Public-private partnership” contest 19 December 2006 Workshop "Albania's Interim Agreement with the EU and its effects on the Albanian Business" 1 December 2006 Debate of the civil society about the new draft law concerning the State Police 21 November 2006 Presenting the findings of the survey “Albania and the EU – Perceptions and Realities” 18 November 2006 The Conference “Albania and Greece – Mutual perceptions” 6-10 November 2006 Seminar on the challenges of European Integration 3 November 2006 Debate about book policies in the countries of Western Balkans 3 November 2006 AUBG closes recruitment ceremony with fourth-grade students of high schools in Tirana 1 November 2006 Organization that builds school wins case against Albanian government 14 October 2006 Standards in pre-university education 10 October 2006 Presentation of the monitoring report ivote.com - January-July 2006 16 September 2006 Historical turns and the return of memory

1 December 2006

A discussion of the new draft law concerning the State Police was held on 1 December 2006 at Tirana International Hotel with the broad participation of the civil society and the financial support of the Soros Foundation. The round table called “Decentralization and community policing” centered around the new draft-law on the State Police. Particular attention was paid to comparisons of certain provisions in the existing law and the way they appeared/disappeared in the new draft. Concern was expressed over the fact that the drafting process was kept closed thus not allowing for the input and comments of civil society organizations. Among the various issues discussed at the round table mention can be made:

The draft law was not submitted to a broad professional discussion with the participation of leaders of the various levels of the State Police; Neither did it draw the input of civil society stakeholders, thus leaving out valuable insights especially by human rights groups.
The fact that many provisions in the present law are left out from the new draft-law such as article 57 (relations with the public), article 58 (relations to the public administration), and article 59 (relations with the local government) may create the premises for cutting off the direct relations of the State Police with the communities and community representatives at the local level of government.
The new draft is ambiguous in many instances. The flaws in the use of legal terms may create space for misinterpretations and coverage of abusive acts.

The discussion was organized by the Institute for Democracy and Mediation, the Association of the Municipalities, the Albanian Helsinki Committee, the Albanian Human Rights Group, the Albanian Center for Human Rights, the Center for Parliamentary Studies, the Forum of Free Thought, and the Association of Albanian Communes. In addition, the round table was attended by experts, representatives of PAMECA and ICITAP, OSCE, the Delegation of the European Commission, the Council of Europe, former police leaders and senior police experts, media representatives, etc.
The organizers published an open letter addressed to the parliamentary commissions on law and national security in which they demand that the deadline for the draft law’s submission and voting by the Parliament be postponed so that experts and stakeholders are given the opportunity to provide their input and comments towards improving the draft-law on the State Police.