A series of regional discussions with Albanian judges and senior experts was concluded with a two-day exchange on the harmonisation of judicial practice taking place in Vlora, with the participation of 20 judges from Fier and Shkodra. This exchange had a particular focus on the implementation of the legislation on treatment of property in line with the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). During the meeting were discussed important aspects surrounding property rights and the European Convention for Human Rights, focusing on several important ECtHR decisions issued from 2012 with the pilot decision of Manushaqe Puto and others until 2020 with Beshiri v. Albania.

The series of 6 exchange meetings that took place in Pogradec, Vlorë, Gjirokastër, Kavaja and Lezhë, was initiated in February 2020, involving directly about 150 judges and other legal professionals, from 16 district courts, 5 administrative courts, and 3 appeals’ courts in Albania. These activities that were organised thanks to a close cooperation with the High Judicial Council, aimed at supporting the Albanian judiciary in developing effective domestic remedies for the execution of ECtHR judgments and supporting the harmonisation of the judicial practice in the field of property rights.

The regional events were organised in the framework of the action “Supporting enforcement of the judicial decisions and facilitating the execution of ECtHR judgements in Albania” under “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey II”, a co-operation initiative co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.