Constitutional Justice in Countries in Transition

This book addresses the organisation and the performance of the Albanian Constitutional Court, which came into existence in the early beginning of Albania’s transition from authoritarism to democracy. Following a brief explanation of the concept of judicial review, the study guides the reader to the distinctive features of the Albanian Constitutional Court and provides an overview of its relevant jurisprudence from a constitutional and comparative perspective. The reader is also introduced to political and constitutional developments of post-communist Albania, which have had a substantial impact on the Constitutional Court’s performance. A number of constitutional cases have been reviewed, which provide a clear picture of the role that the Albanian Constitutional Court has played in the course of constitutional protection in times of transition. The main conclusion of this work is that despite recent discernible improvements, the system of constitutional justice in general and the Albanian Constitutional Court in particular is still weak and requires further improvement to ensure a satisfactory level of constitutional protection. The main argument in support of this view is the performance of the Constitutional Court, which has often lacked constitutional consistency and neutrality and has prevented the Court from becoming an independent and powerful arbiter of Albanian constitutional life.