Newsroom
OSCE Presence delivers draft property law to Albanian Assembly Speaker
TIRANA 27 October 2003
TIRANA, 27 October 2003 - The OSCE Presence in Albania delivered the final draft law on property to the Speaker of the Albanian Assembly, Servet Pellumbi, today.
The aim of the final Draft Law on Restitution and Compensation of Property is to provide for a just regulation of property rights that have arisen from expropriation, nationalization or confiscation. The draft deals with recognition and restitution of immovable property, and compensation in situations where restitution is impossible. It also contains provisions on the central and local administrative bodies which deal with the restitution and compensation cases and regulates the procedures for accomplishing restitution and compensation.
"If this draft law is accepted, the process of recognition and restitution of immovable property should be finished by the end of the year 2006," said Ambassador Osmo Lipponen, Head of the OSCE Presence. "A time frame of ten years has been proposed for the monetary compensation process."
The involvement of the OSCE Presence in this project is based on the initiative of the Albanian political leaders. In spring 2003, the Assembly requested the OSCE assistance in drafting an integrated law, based on the two pending draft laws submitted by the Council of Ministers and the Republican Party deputies, Fatmir Mediu and Alfred Cako. In June, the OSCE Presence assembled a Technical Expert Group comprised of Albanian and foreign legal and property experts, including experts nominated by the Socialist Party, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. Following the extension of the original deadline of 31 July, the final draft was delivered by the OSCE Presence in response to the parliamentary schedule set by the Speaker.
The Technical Expert Group based its decisions on the requirements set forth in the Constitution. It accepted the basic philosophy that the new draft must balance the need to correct the injustices that have resulted from actions in the past with the need to get the economy and society working better now and in the future. In two articles of the draft options have been provided that reflect two different interpretations of Articles 181 and 41 of the Constitution.
The Expert Group held hearings with outside experts and interest groups and gathered and analyzed data. A Government expert and a Republican Party representative were also heard at an earlier stage of the Group's work while the draft was in its preliminary phase.
"The international community has fully supported the work of the OSCE Presence and the Technical Expert Group, clearly stating that a good draft law is more important than a quick result," stressed Ambassador Lipponen. "The Presence will continue to co-operate with the Assembly in order to accomplish a final resolution to the restitution and compensation issues."
He also announced that the OSCE Presence would offer a series of public hearings on the draft law throughout Albania and would start to focus on producing relevant sub-legal acts and procedural manuals for the implementation of the law in co-operation with Albanian experts. Additional resources and expertise will still be required before the implementation phase of the law could begin.
The aim of the final Draft Law on Restitution and Compensation of Property is to provide for a just regulation of property rights that have arisen from expropriation, nationalization or confiscation. The draft deals with recognition and restitution of immovable property, and compensation in situations where restitution is impossible. It also contains provisions on the central and local administrative bodies which deal with the restitution and compensation cases and regulates the procedures for accomplishing restitution and compensation.
"If this draft law is accepted, the process of recognition and restitution of immovable property should be finished by the end of the year 2006," said Ambassador Osmo Lipponen, Head of the OSCE Presence. "A time frame of ten years has been proposed for the monetary compensation process."
The involvement of the OSCE Presence in this project is based on the initiative of the Albanian political leaders. In spring 2003, the Assembly requested the OSCE assistance in drafting an integrated law, based on the two pending draft laws submitted by the Council of Ministers and the Republican Party deputies, Fatmir Mediu and Alfred Cako. In June, the OSCE Presence assembled a Technical Expert Group comprised of Albanian and foreign legal and property experts, including experts nominated by the Socialist Party, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. Following the extension of the original deadline of 31 July, the final draft was delivered by the OSCE Presence in response to the parliamentary schedule set by the Speaker.
The Technical Expert Group based its decisions on the requirements set forth in the Constitution. It accepted the basic philosophy that the new draft must balance the need to correct the injustices that have resulted from actions in the past with the need to get the economy and society working better now and in the future. In two articles of the draft options have been provided that reflect two different interpretations of Articles 181 and 41 of the Constitution.
The Expert Group held hearings with outside experts and interest groups and gathered and analyzed data. A Government expert and a Republican Party representative were also heard at an earlier stage of the Group's work while the draft was in its preliminary phase.
"The international community has fully supported the work of the OSCE Presence and the Technical Expert Group, clearly stating that a good draft law is more important than a quick result," stressed Ambassador Lipponen. "The Presence will continue to co-operate with the Assembly in order to accomplish a final resolution to the restitution and compensation issues."
He also announced that the OSCE Presence would offer a series of public hearings on the draft law throughout Albania and would start to focus on producing relevant sub-legal acts and procedural manuals for the implementation of the law in co-operation with Albanian experts. Additional resources and expertise will still be required before the implementation phase of the law could begin.