The Bank of Albania has proposed that the Governor and Deputy Governors may not be arrested, deprived of their liberty, subjected to a personal search, or have their homes searched without prior authorization from the Constitutional Court.
Under Article 72 of the draft law, the Constitutional Court must issue a decision within two weeks. If it fails to do so within that period, the request is deemed rejected.
This provision is included in the new draft Law "On the Bank of Albania", prepared by the Bank of Albania and published by the Ministry of Finance for public consultation.
The draft law aims to align Albania's legislation with European Union standards. However, this procedure does not exist in EU member states. Governors of central banks enjoy institutional independence and legal protection in the exercise of their duties, but their arrest or search does not require prior authorization from a constitutional court.
The draft law was published while SPAK stated, in July 2024, that it was investigating the Bank of Albania's microcredit case. To date, there has been no official announcement that the investigation has been closed.
