128 uL stration and eV tting in post-communist Albania inter-linked with civic trust in governmental institutions Security & Sector Sigurimi closed in July 2, 1991 and In Judicial sector, in foreign serReform transformed in National State Service vices, state police. To ban high rank officials to maintain their positions. Vetting and Lustration Estimated 139 persons banned on par- 2017-2018: 30 senior position are ticipating in election of 1996. removed from office or banned No official data about other categories. from judiciary system, foreign service, state police. Because their connection with secret service. One of the first measure of Transitional Justice in Albania was introduced on August 1991. Albania Parliament debated for five parliamentary sessions the draft law “On Innocence, Amnesty of Ex-Convicted and Political Persecuted”. These debates took place on August 1, 2, 3 and 5, to be approved on September 30, 199130. The draft law was proposed by Council of Ministers two months before parliamentary first debate. One of the first needs proposed by the parliament before approving the law, the intension was to abrogate the existing laws in disagreement with the new law proposed and in contradiction with human rights and international law that Albania was willing to adopt. Members of Parliament were willing for the amnesty, compensation and rehabilitation of ex-convictions and political persecuted. The opposition was demanding also their innocence. Socialist Party MPs opposed to give the innocence to Ex-Convicted and Political Persecuted with the main argument that was a judiciary competence and not a legislative one, being so unconstitutional. Fehmi Abdiu, one of the most active members of parliament from Socialist Party, expressed: “Amnesty in fact is known as a legislative power, which convert in null a convicted act, extinguish prosecution, delete sentences, but all these cannot be conceived as the same with as forgiveness and even more with innocence. Innocence is an attribute of judiciary system”. 31 Even the will to break with the past left political parties were not given up easy to the past ideas about communism. Long debates took place about wrongdoings of the communism and international human rights laws, none of MPs proposed a lustration measures. One of the opposition member of parliament Natasha Lako mentioned lustration measures and in her words: “I think that if we are going to approve a commission where the judges and lawyers are going to take decisions about the innocence, I do not know, but I propose that those from High Court, being head of the courts, or from regions courts, of course within the laws, should be checked if they were implicated in the shameful and unjust processes. I am not judging them32 This is one of the first lustration and vetting measures mention in Albania parliamentarian debates. Also, another member of parliament from opposition, Blerim Cela: “We should create a commission of inquiry to put in front of the courts all those who has surpass the laws during Enver regime that are many in numbers”33. On September 30, 1991, Fatos Nano, the representative of Socialist Party MPs spoke that they agreed to declare the innocence of ex-convicted and political persecuted. After this declaration 30. Drejtoria e Shërbimit të Botimeve Parlamentare, Punime të Kuvendit Legjislatura e 12-të Viti 1991, nr.4, Kuvendi, Tirane 2009 31. Drejtoria e Shërbimit të Botimeve Parlamentare, Punime të Kuvendit Legjislatura e 12-të Viti 1991, nr.4, Kuvendi, Tirane 2009 32. Drejtoria e Shërbimit të Botimeve Parlamentare, Punime të Kuvendit Legjislatura e 12-të Viti 1991, nr.4, Kuvendi, Tirane 2009 (1620, 1991). 33. Drejtoria e Shërbimit të Botimeve Parlamentare, Punime të Kuvendit Legjislatura e 12-të Viti 1991, nr.4, Kuvendi, Tirane 2009(1632, 1991, Enver Hoxha is the name of dictator during 1944-1985 in Albania).