Judge killing exposes Albania’s judicial crisis and public distrust
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Albanian Court of Appeal Judge Astrit Kalaja was shot on October 6 in her courtroom in Tirana, where she was hearing a property dispute case. International Commission of Jurists. During the clash, Kalaja died from his injuries and two others were injured. The 30-year-old suspect was arrested.
Kalaja’s murder quickly became a lightning rod for nationwide dissatisfaction with the Albanian judiciary.
Former Albanian Ambassador to the United States and the United Nations, Agim Nesho, told Fox News Digital that the reforms implemented by the European Union and the United States almost a decade ago were “intended to strengthen the rule of law” but “have been turned into a political tool, undermining democratic institutions and concentrating power in the hands of the executive.”
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Police secure the area around the Tirana Court of Appeals after a judge was shot dead in Tirana on October 6, 2025. A man on trial opened fire in a courtroom in the Albanian capital Tirana, killing Appeals Court Judge Astrit Kalaja, who was presiding over his case when the man opened fire, police said. (Adnan Beci/AFP via Getty Images)
“As a result,” Nesho said, “public confidence in the justice system has been severely eroded; institutional dysfunction has reached a level where some segments of society are driven to take justice into their own hands, a dangerous sign of democratic decline.”
Opposition Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha told Fox News Digital that Kalaja’s killing was a “heinous act and an alarm bell that should not be ignored.”
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Berisha said the “clear support the law has garnered,” including the creation of a now-inactive GoFundMe to support the killer’s legal rights, was a “protest against a dysfunctional judiciary, a corrupt and politicized judicial system.”
Berisha said judicial reforms “left the country without a Constitutional Court and Supreme Court for more than five years” and created a “staggering backlog” of nearly 200,000 cases. He said the process of vetting judicial staff had become “a witch hunt against judges.” [to be] independent or potentially right-leaning.” According to Berisha, this led to “the arming of the judiciary against the opposition.”
Democratic Party lawmakers (left) watch their colleagues in the ruling Socialist party vote in Tirana, Albania, on February 22, 2024. (Armando Babani/AP Photo)
A 2020 report on U.S. aid to Albania describes American and EU efforts to “restore the integrity of the Albanian justice system.” The report notes that USAID helped the Supreme Court establish a procedure to handle 72% of the 35,000 case backlog. II also stated It was stated that 125 of the 286 judges and prosecutors under investigation were dismissed “due to unexplained wealth, connection with organized crime or incompetence”, and 50 judges chose to resign instead of being investigated.
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Berisha claimed that after the reforms, it now takes about 15-20 years to resolve legal disputes. “Justice delayed is justice denied,” Berisha said. he said.
Lawyer Besnik Muçi, a former prosecutor and judge at the Constitutional Court of Albania, told Fox News Digital that the judicial reforms aim to “establish a reliable, fair, independent, professional, service-oriented, open, accountable and efficient justice system.” He said the Albanian justice system “failed on almost all parameters”.
Muçi said that the courts’ backlog of cases consists of approximately 150,000 cases. He also noted that the closure of five appeals courts and some district courts “virtually prevents citizens from accessing justice.” He also explained that most court buildings “do not meet the necessary security conditions and standards.”
“Citizens do not believe in the justice system,” Muçi said.
Then-Albanian President Ilir Meta holds an American flag while speaking at a rally in Tirana on March 2, 2020. Thousands of Albanians marched against the country’s left-wing government and Prime Minister Edi Rama on March 2, 2020, responding to the call of the president, who accused him of violating the constitution. (Photo: Gent Shkullaku/AFP via Getty Images)
Following Kalaja’s murder, the Korça Bar Association and the Albanian National Bar Association boycotted court hearings on 9 and 10 October. Korça Bar Association Director Nevzat Tarelli said: Albanian news station CNA He stated that Kalaja’s murder highlights the need to increase security and confidence in judicial personnel. He also said, “People who expect justice to come on time, if they do not receive justice on time, they no longer have faith in justice.”
Engjëll Agachi, secretary general of the Albanian Council of Ministers, did not respond to Fox News Digital’s questions about nationwide dissatisfaction with the judiciary or the size of Albania’s case backlog.
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A State Department spokesman declined to answer questions about the success of U.S.-backed judicial reform efforts in Albania or to address the issues highlighted by Kalaja’s murder.
“We offer our deepest condolences to the victims of this attack and their families, and we strongly condemn the use of violence against judges and prosecutors,” the spokesman said.
