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| Gjonaj and Phil |
The Minister of Justice, Etilda Gjonaj, during her official visit, at the invitation of the British authorities, signed the transfer of convicts agreement between the Republic of Albania and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The agreement aims to develop international cooperation in the field of criminal law between the Republic of Albania and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as well as to further the goals of justice and social rehabilitation of convicted persons.
Currently, the judicial cooperation relations of the Republic of Albania with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, regarding the transfer of convicted persons are regulated by the agreement on the transfer of convicted persons, which was ratified by the Assembly in 2013.
The parties have facilitated the implementation of the agreement by improving the provisions related to the necessary documentation for the transfer of inmates. In addition, the provisions relating to the continuation of the execution of the sentence by the receiving State have been improved, providing that the receiving State adjusts the sentence according to the provisions contained in this draft agreement.
During her visit, Minister Gjonaj met with Minister Philp, who during the discussions noted that for the Republic of Albania it is important to rehabilitate and reintegrate all Albanian citizens, regardless of the place where the crime has been committed.
To this end, this agreement is a good instrument that guarantees Albanian citizens the opportunity to request the transfer of sentence to the Republic of Albania, which would allow for more frequent contact with their family members, and consequently helps in reintegration faster in the country of origin.
On the other hand, Minister Gjonaj noted that Albania has undertaken a profound judicial reform, which is already being accompanied by a profound reform of the penitentiary system. In the framework of the reform of the penitentiary system, in addition to improving the legislation in this field, the Ministry of Justice also aims to improve the conditions of prisoners treatment.
For this purpose, the Ministry of Justice, Mrs. Gjonaj also met with Minister Chalk, with whom she had a fruitful conversation on the penitentiary system. Minister Gjonaj and Minister Chalk discussed the possibility of support from the British side through the reconstruction or construction of a new prison on concrete projects, which could improve the conditions of the Albanian prisoner and reduce the population in Albanian prisons.
Minister Chalk, expressed the strong political will to support the requests of the Albanian side and undertook the commitment to continue further discussions between the technical staff on the modalities of this cooperation. The British side also expressed strong support for the continuation of cooperation in the field of penitentiary reform through increasing the capacity of the internal control service in prisons as well as the exchange of data with the British authorities, for Albanian citizens who have been convicted by a formal decision in the UK.