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A decision of the European Court of Human Rights finds violations in the process that led to the dismissal by the Special Appeal Board of former prosecutor Besnik Cani, in the framework of the re-evaluation of judges and prosecutors.
According to the decision published today, the former prosecutor's "right to a court established by law", provided by the European Convention, was violated. For this, the decision refers to the fact that a member of the College, Luan Daci, who was part of the jury, and dismissed after all levels of the Albanian judiciary found him guilty of "falsification of documents", VOA reports.
Former prosecutor Cani was confirmed in office by the independent Qualification Commission in 2018, but two years later, in February 2020, the College found a lack of legal sources to justify his wealth. In the College, he waged a battle against judges Luan Daci and Ardian Hajdari, claiming that they were appointed to office contrary to legal provisions, and demanding their dismissal. But the College did not consider his requests. The former prosecutor also filed a criminal complaint against the member of the College, Luan Daci. In the meantime, judge Hajdari was also taken as a defendant by the Special Prosecutor's Office.
In today's decision, the Strasbourg Court assessed that the most appropriate form of compensation for former prosecutor Cani would be the reopening of the process and the re-examination of the case, clarifying that it cannot express "any opinion on the reasons for his dismissal. The court cannot speculate on what would be the result of the verification process against the applicant if the requirements of the European Convention had been met, the decision underlines.
Thus, the court rejected the request of the former prosecutor, for his immediate return to office, or recognition of the financial compensation, requested by him, in the value of the monthly salary for the period from the day of his dismissal from office.