A study analysing the caselaw of the Albanian judiciary on the freedom of expression and freedom of the media from the standards of the European Convention of Human Rights was launched today in Tirana. Prepared by Respublica centre, with the support of the joint European Union and Council of Europe action on “Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Media in Albania” (JUFREX), the study is based on 200 cases from 2016-2021 from all court levels in Albania. Being the first study of this kind in Albania, it aims at improving the level of professionalism in the dialogue between lawyers and courts, as well as to provide a picture of practices in judicial proceedings dealing with freedom of expression and the media.

The study reveals that the jurisprudence of European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) is finding increased reflection in the courts’ local practice in Albania while landmark cases of ECtHR are increasingly used to guide court decisions. It constitutes a unique source of information and a reference material for training institutions in the field of justice, for legal professionals in their everyday work and also journalists and the media.

Representatives of media, judiciary and civil society, participating in the launching event, acknowledged the importance of continuous capacity building and information sharing based also on the evolving case law of the ECtHR and appraised the role and contribution of JUFREX in this direction.

 Download the study (in Albanian)

This activity was organised within the action on “Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Media in Albania” which is a part of the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022”.