CourtApp Albania is the first pilot project of the Court-Access Project. In January 2024, discussions began with Adea Pirdeni, then Deputy Minister of Justice, now Minister of State of Albania for Public Administration and Anti-Corruption, to test CourtApp in Albania and specifically in Elbasan. Over the next ten months, CourtApp members worked with Elbasan Chief of Police, Rover Zeka, Chief Prosecutor Kreshnik Ajazi, the head of the Bar Association in Elbasan, and Kelment Greca, Director of the department of court administration and information technology at the High Judicial Council to identify the Albanian requirements of CourtApp. At the same time and with a team of App builders and designers from Keyvalue Software systems based in India, www.keyvalue.systems, CourtApp was tailored to the requirements of the Albanian Criminal Procedure Code.
The early detention timing requirements in Albania are fairly simple, if not always clear. The Criminal Procedure Article 251(4) provides that the police person who performs the stop must “immediately” hand over the person to the judicial police. Under Criminal Procedure Article 255(2), the judicial police “shall, as soon as possible, place the arrested or detained person under the order of the prosecutor in the pre-detention premises, by sending the relevant minutes.” The prosecution has 48 hours, under Criminal Procedure Code Article 258(1), to release the suspect or seek further detention or conditional release and the court has 48 hours, under Criminal Procedure Code Article 259(5), to decide the application.
As shown on the video, CourtApp provides reminders and notices to the police, the prosecution, and the courts that actions must be taken. It generates release orders when these deadlines have passed, and the suspect must be release. It generates applications for further detention and court orders granting or denying these applications. It also notifies the on-call legal aid lawyer that a stop has taken place, and a lawyer is needed at the police station.
