The Information and Data Protection Commissioner’s Office, in implementation of the agreement of the Republic of Albania with Eurojust (Law No. 113/2018), in the framework of the exchange of information for the purposes of investigation and prosecution, has drafted a Monitoring Report on the activity of the Prosecution system on the protection of personal data. The findings of this document were presented at a meeting with the participation of the Prosecutor General, Mr. Olsian Çela, the Head of the Special Structure Against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK), Mr. Altin Dumani, and the Officials of 13 Prosecutors’ Offices of the General Jurisdiction.
In his remarks, Commissioner Dervishi emphasized the importance of cooperation and proactive contribution from the central and local structures of the Prosecutor’s Office system, aimed at strengthening standards and mechanisms that ensure the protection of personal data as a fundamental right of the individual.
“The result appears to be more than positive, it received maximum appreciation from Eurojust’s data protection colleagues and in particular, the presentation as a model to be applied by other countries in the region at the Data Protection Academy, organized in Brussels in September of this year by the European Commission. I believe that, in addition to the success of this Report, what should be highlighted in this process is the excellent cooperation and communication between our independent institutions in the very important mission they have. This role assigned in this Agreement to our institution is related to a right that is considered very important in the EU. This, along with the appreciation from international partners, definitely makes us feel good on one hand, but on the other hand, it burdens us with the responsibility to continue with the same commitment and quality in this periodic exercise, which we should consider as an opportunity to improve work processes and good practices for Interinstitutional cooperation,” added Mr. Dervishi.
The General Prosecutor, Mr. Çela, underlined in his speech that “the monitoring process by the Commissioner is valuable not only in terms of the implementation of the Agreement between the Republic of Albania and Eurojust, but also creates the possibility of setting high standards for the handling of personal data by the prosecution in all directions, which is very important also in the context of the European integration process and the standards that Albanian institutions must meet.” He also emphasized the necessity of continuous institutional communication with the Commissioner, also in terms of transparency with the public.
The Head of SPAK, Mr. Dumani, emphasized in his speech that “our approach is rooted in transparency and privacy, to ensure that the methods we use meet European standards and protect the rights of citizens. We aim not only to be effective in the fight against organized crime but, above all, to preserve the values that are the foundation of our democratic societies.”
For the drafting of this first Report, the Commissioner’s Office conducted monitoring visits to the General Prosecutor’s Office, SPAK, and the General Jurisdiction Prosecutor’s Offices in Tirana, Elbasan, and Lezha. Alongside this activity, the Commissioner’s Office provided these institutions with its expertise to improve regulatory acts, practices, and particularly to implement appropriate technical and organizational measures concerning personal data security. Achieving the most contemporary standards in this field is also important due to the new phase of development in which our country finds itself – the EU membership process.
