TIRANA, Albania (AP) — The chief judge of Albania’s Supreme Court has been dismissed after not being able to reconcile his personal assets to the appeals branch of a commission charged with rooting out corruption.
The Specialist Appeals College said Friday that Judge Xhezair Zaganjori’s income did not account for properties he owned and his spending.
A lower commission decided a year ago to leave Zaganjori on the Supreme Court. A public commissioner appealed.
Most of one-fifth of some 800 Albanian judges and prosecutors vetted over 18 months to ensure they were independent from politics were fired, leaving Albania’s top courts dysfunctional.
Parliament unanimously approved the vetting process three years ago, with the goal of combatting judicial corruption that has hampered democracy in post-communist Albania.
