Specific Objective 3.2
“An efficient and proactive operational prosecution system according to European standards and efficient investigation and prosecution of corruption and organized crime”.
The objective is for the prosecution to fulfill its mission for a comprehensive, independent and prompt investigation, and to pay special attention to corruption and organized crime cases.
Thus, initially, in these cases, the prosecution is encouraged to conduct a proactive investigation, which means: first, the type of investigation where the evidence-gathering process is conducted simultaneously with the emergence of a suspected criminal offense; second, the kind of investigation launched by the prosecutor in the absence lack of a report; and third, any investigation which is significantly more extensive than the original report. In addition, the prosecution is encouraged to work especially on complex cases, for example, those cases where the subject of investigation is a senior public official, cases which have a large number of defendants, or a large number of criminal offenses that have serious consequences for the life and property of persons or cause great economic damage, which result in the confiscation of high-value assets, etc.
Also, for the investigation to be efficient, it is required to use special investigation techniques, such as special investigation methods pursuant to the Code of Criminal Procedure and other legal provisions, the use of which is not authorized for all types of criminal offenses. Such are sting operations, undercover operations in a criminal group, controlled delivery, witness protection, as well as other techniques such as: search warrants in cases of investigation of corruption offenses; sending letters-rogatory to obtain evidence found abroad; obtaining computer evidence; use of medical forensic evidence (DNA, etc.); use of accounting expertise; electronic surveillance; receiving and using information from foreign countries; the use of justice collaborators or cooperation through plea bargains; etc.
It is essential that this investigation is successful, i.e., that the proceedings be sent to trial, and at the end of it the defendant is found guilty, or the prosecutor manages to show that the investigative actions were exhaustive regardless of the court decision.
Conclusion: This objective is current and achievable within the duration of CJS II due to its essential character for the Albanian state, for the public trust in the justice system, for the creation of a culture of punishment instead of that of impunity, as well as for the country’s process of EU integration. The outcomes and measures on which this objective is supposed to be achieved will be analyzed and in the end it will be possible to conclude whether, in their entirety, they meet the objective or not. A valid indicator for measuring outcomes in terms of proactive prosecution efficiency would be “% of proactive investigation cases compared to cases referred by the police or reports filed with the prosecution office”.