Albania

The following Justice Initiative projects are underway in, or relevant to, Albania:

Freedom of Information and Expression

Albania Defamation Law Reform: Secret Gag Order Challenged in Constitutional Court
A secret executive order restricting official communications with the media violates the Albanian Constitution and the European Convention, five human and media rights groups argue in a petition filed today with the Constitutional Court. The petition contends that the Order on Communications with Print and Electronic Media, issued by Prime Minister Fatos Nano in August 2002 but never publicly disclosed, violates freedom of expression as well as the constitutional right to information on government activities. The decree prohibits most senior civil servants from "communicating with print and electronic media in order to provide information on their official duties." The Secret gag order was later revoked.