Pay and don't go to jail in Albania, some sentences are converted into payment

 

 The overcrowding of prisons has prompted the government to explore alternative ways to reduce the number of inmates.

In the proposed changes, in articles 137 and beyond, it is stated that the court, in cases where a minor criminal offense has been committed and the perpetrator meets all other criteria, upon his request, the court may decide to replace the prison sentence with the payment of a fine in favor of the state, calculated at six thousand new lek per day of imprisonment.

A ten-day limit is set, within which the convicted person must pay the fine that converts the prison sentence. The payment of the money in favor of the state is made after the court decision is rendered. However, this substitution cannot be decided without hearing the victim if there is one, and the prosecutor, but the code also has limitations, as it is stipulated that this provision does not apply in cases of criminal offenses committed by public officials, criminal offenses of corruption, criminal offenses against justice, those of trafficking, and against the person or family violence.

The pre-trial detention period has also changed. In the new code, the pre-trial detention or house arrest period is calculated in the prison or fine, as well as in the obligation to perform work in the public interest. Thus, one day of pre-trial detention is equivalent to six thousand lek. One day of pre-trial detention is equivalent to twenty hours of work in the public interest. As for house arrest; one day of house arrest is equivalent to one day of imprisonment. One day of house arrest is equivalent to a three-thousand lek fine. The draft amendments state that one day of house arrest is equivalent to fifteen hours of work in the public interest.