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Summary: General overview of Albania's national legal provisions on children's rights, including guidance on how to conduct further research.
National laws on children's rights Status of the CRC in national law Constitution: Part II of the Albanian Constitution includes a large number of rights provisions that apply regardless of age, but also a small number that specifically address the rights of children: Legislation: there is no comprehensive or consolidated Albanian Children's Law, though much of the legislation relevant to children's rights is found in the Law on the Protection of the Rights of the Child. Legislation of particular relevance to children includes, but is by no means limited to: Legal Research Case Law Case Law Research Compliance with the CRC In depth analysis The Committee also raised a number of concerns with regards to laws on abuse, neglect and sexual exploitation. Domestic violence was not explicitly prohibited under national law, and the Penal Code's provisions on neglect (arts. 145 and 125) related only to providing living means. The corresponding recommendations focused on the need to revise national laws to criminalise all forms of domestic violence, including marital rape, and establish a Convention compliant definition of neglect. With regards to sexual exploitation and abuse, the Committee expressed concern that children between the ages of 14 and 18 were only protected where the abuse involved violence, and girls were only protected up to the age of puberty. The Committee urged the State to “revise its legislation to ensure that all children up to the age of 18 are protected against sexual abuse and exploitation”. Juvenile justice also emerged as an area of Albanian law that did not meet the standards set by the Convention. Of particular concern was the lack of a specialised system of justice for children, including specialised juvenile courts and appropriately trained legal professionals. The Committee also raised concerns about the use of detention, including pre-trial detention, noting that 70 per cent of convicted children served their sentences while awaiting trial. The Committee urged the State to address the treatment of children in conflict with the law, including by ensuring that deprivation of liberty is only used as a last resort, and that diversion, probation, counselling and community sentences were used as alternatives to detention. Current legal reform projects
Article 122 of the Constitution of Albania provides that ratified international agreements, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, are part of domestic law. Directly applicable treaties can be applied by the courts, but international agreements that are not self-executing require national legislation to be passed to give them effect. Only certain provisions of the Convention are considered to be sufficiently defined to be applied directly. International agreements have superior force to domestic legislation, and so where the Convention contradicts national law, the Convention must be applied.
The Constitution is available in English and Albanian through the website of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (http://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/details.jsp?id=9481) and in Albanian through the Parliament's website (http://www.parlament.al/web/Kushtetuta_e_Republikes_se_Shqiperise_e_perditesuar_1150_1.php). The World Law Guide (http://www.lexadin.nl/wlg/legis/nofr/eur/lxwealb.htm) provides access to a selection of legislation in English, and the International Labour Organisation website, NATLEX (http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex_browse.country?p_lang=en&p_country=ALB), provides access to legislation in French, English and Albanian. In addition, the GlobaLex initiative at New York University has published a guide to legal research in Albania (http://www.nyulawglobal.org/Globalex/Albania.htm) and the U.S. Law Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/nations/albania.php) and the World Legal Information Institute (http://www.worldlii.org/catalog/2235.html) provide a selection of links to legal and governmental resources.
CRC Jurisprudence
Please contact CRIN if you are aware of any cases in national courts that reference the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The Constitutional Court maintains a database of its decisions in Albanian and more limited information in English (http://www.gjk.gov.al/).
In is Concluding Observations of 2012, the Committee on the Rights of the Child welcomed the numerous child-related laws that had been adopted in Albania, particularly the Law on the Protection of the Rights of the Child. The Committee expressed concern, however, at the lack of effective follow-up and implementation of legislation, and noted “the generally weak capacity of the State party to effectively implement child-related laws”. The Committee urged the State to ensure that the Law on the Protection of the Rights of the Child supersedes all other legislation and provides children with appropriate means of redress.
A number of more specific areas of Albanian law emerged from the Committee's 2012 Observations as falling short of the standards set by the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Perhaps the most basic failings of domestic law were in relation to the definition of the child in various settings. The Committee expressed concern that children between the ages of 14 and 18 were not accorded the special protection required under the Convention. The Criminal Code (arts. 100 and 101) treated girls as adults from the age of puberty, and children deprived of family environments were required to leave care institutions at 15 without the protection or financial support of the State. The Committee urged the State to “take all necessary measures to clarify the definition of the child in Albania and to review existing legislation to ensure that all children up to the age of 18 years receive the protection they need as provided for in the Convention”.
Please contact CRIN if you are aware of any current legal reform projects.