The opening ceremony of the new judicial year took place this Monday.

Sokol Sadushi, the president of the Supreme Court, delivered his speech. He emphasized that justice must be independent in decision-making and dignified in its relationship with the citizen.

"Justice is not just decision-making. This day also marks the establishment of an institutional tradition. This ceremony has special significance and the justice system expresses its role in serving the citizen and the rule of law," he added.

Sadushi added that justice must be accessible to the citizen, within a reasonable time and with dignity, because when the system is overloaded and the citizen cannot reach justice in time, independence fades in its most essential effect, the real protection of rights.

He further emphasized that justice is measured not only by the quality of the final decision, but also by the path to reach it, underlining that "Independent justice does not decide to please anyone. It decides to respect the law and give meaning to rights."

Part of the word:

For the first time in the history of the Albanian state, we open the judicial year in this hall of the United Colleges of the Supreme Court. Today we are not following a tradition, but we are creating it. It is meaningful that this step is taken precisely here, where issues of particular importance are examined and where, through the interpretation and unification of practice, coherence is strengthened and predictability of the law increases. Your presence today honors the Supreme Court and gives due weight to this moment.

In a broader sense, justice is not just decision-making. It is also a standard and orientation for the system and society. Therefore, this hall does not belong only to this institution. Essentially, it belongs to the citizens, every individual who enters here with the hope of being heard and treated with dignity, equality and impartiality.

This day not only marks the start of the judicial year, but the establishment of an institutional tradition that gives justice an annual moment of reflection and public accountability.

For this reason, this ceremony has special importance. It is a moment when the justice system expresses with prudence and public awareness its role, in service of the citizen and the rule of law, not with rhetoric, but with standards and responsibility.

In this spirit, We address citizens, legal professionals and institutions of the Republic at the same time, not to comment on specific issues, but to reaffirm the principles that should guide justice. We must say it clearly from the beginning. This is a public commitment, simple in formulation, but essential in content. Justice must be independent in decision-making, accountable in standards and worthy in relation to the citizen.

This commitment is also reflected in the theme we have chosen for this ceremony: "Justice versus independence, accountability and public trust", which is essentially a call for awareness. These are not words to be said once a year, but are principles that must be respected every day, in the way we exercise justice. They are the compass by which citizens measure justice and at the same time justice must measure itself.

The presence here today of the President of the Republic, the heads of constitutional institutions, ambassadors and international partners, as well as judges, prosecutors and lawyers, conveys an important message that justice is not a matter for a single institution or a single power. It is a pillar of the rule of law and we must all bear responsibility for it.

In a democratic state, the separation and balance of powers is not simply an abstract principle, but a security mechanism for freedoms and rights, where justice has an irreplaceable role in guaranteeing impartiality and effective protection of rights. The value of this mechanism is most clearly understood precisely in the citizen's daily experience with justice.

Citizens' trust in the state rarely begins with statements. It usually begins in the courtroom, when a person brings a conflict and expects to be heard impartially, within a reasonable time and with dignity. In this sense, courts not only apply the law, but also show whether rights are protected, whether abuses are corrected and whether legality is more than an aspiration. For most citizens, justice is the most direct contact with the state. There, trust is strengthened or weakened. This depends, above all, on the professionalism, ethics and standard of daily work in justice.

On this special day, I express my appreciation and respect for all those who carry justice on their shoulders every day: judges, prosecutors, lawyers, but also legal assistants, secretaries and court administration, whose work often remains invisible, but without whom no court can function. Justice is a continuous human effort for discipline, professionalism, self-restraint and consistency.

When we talk about independence, we must understand correctly that it is not a privilege, but a guarantee that the citizen has an impartial and fair trial, protected from pressures and influences. Independence requires integrity, courage, professionalism and ethics, which make the judge free in decision-making and strong in reasoning.

However, independence also requires institutional capacity. Justice must be accessible to the citizen, within a reasonable time and with dignity. When the system is overloaded and the citizen cannot reach justice in time, independence fades into its most essential effect, the real protection of rights. Justice is therefore measured not only by the quality of the final decision, but also by the path taken to achieve it. Independent justice does not decide to please anyone. It decides to respect the law and to give meaning to rights.

If independence is the condition for justice to be impartial, responsibility is the condition for it to be credible. Independence without responsibility risks being perceived by the citizen as distance from his needs or as a lack of accountability. Responsibility is not interference in decision-making. It is the quality of decision-making, seriousness in work, respect in the courtroom, professional discipline and care for reasonable time. Above all, responsibility requires clear reasoning, because reasoning is the strongest bridge that connects the court with the citizen. The citizen may disagree with the decision, but he should not be left without understanding it.

A modern society expects high standards from justice: honesty, clarity and consistency. This is measured by concrete elements: are decisions understandable? are they justified by standards? are similar cases treated in the same way? is the dignity of the parties respected? is equality before the law truly guaranteed? These are precisely the questions that are asked every day.

In this sense, independence and accountability, the two fundamental pillars of justice, naturally lead to the most sensitive issue, public trust. This trust is not demanded, but earned. Communication helps, but the decisive factor is the citizen's concrete experience with justice, decision after decision, behavior after behavior, standard after standard. When trust is destroyed, its reconstruction is difficult, but when it is built, it becomes the foundation of legal certainty, social stability and the rule of law itself.

For this reason, for the judicial year that we open today, our commitment must be visible in several areas that directly affect public trust.

First, clarity and quality of reasoning: when the reasoning is clear, the citizen understands justice even when he does not agree with it. When it is unclear, then not only the issue is lost, but also trust. Therefore, our standard should not only be “to decide”, but “to explain why we decide in that way”.

Secondly, reasonable time: Justice delayed risks turning into injustice. The judicial system is faced with a high workload and a backlog of cases. This leads to delays, which are not just statistical issues. There are citizens waiting, cases that drag on and legal relationships that remain pending. Therefore, management, discipline and clear priorities are required.

Third, coherence and predictability. One of the strongest expectations of citizens and the legal community is that the law be predictable. The law is not limited to the norms of law. It also gains meaning through judicial interpretation. When different solutions are given for similar cases, uncertainty is created and trust is violated. Therefore, the systematic publication of case law, usable databases and the unifying role of the Supreme Court are not simply professional issues. They are issues of legal certainty and trust in justice.

These objectives are not achieved through judicial decision-making alone. They require the functioning of the entire justice system, because its quality depends on institutional interaction, where each actor bears its own responsibility.

In this sense, the prosecution has a crucial role for the public interest and for the protection of legality. The quality of the investigation, the maturity of the requests, the proportionality of the measures and the respect of procedural guarantees, affect not only the outcome of the cases, but also the perception of the process as fair. PFor this contribution, our appreciation is clear, along with the expectation that professional standards and procedural rigor will be continuously raised. Equally essential is the role of the legal profession, as a pillar of due process. It makes the right to defense real, strengthens adversarial proceedings, and ensures that equality of arms is a practice, not just a principle. Here too, the Court appreciates the work and encourages the legal profession to ensure that the ethics and quality of representation are always at the height of public trust. When each actor exercises their role with professionalism and ethics, the process becomes fairer, clearer, and more credible.

Precisely for this reason, these challenges cannot be met by a single institution. They are achieved through cooperation, not competition, through institutional respect, not mistrust, through a culture of argument, not labeling. This moment also serves as an invitation for healthy institutional dialogue, within the boundaries of the Constitution and with the public interest at its center.

In this context, I address the executive and legislative branches with institutional respect and in the spirit of constitutional cooperation. Support for the judiciary is a constitutional obligation, not a choice, nor privileged treatment. To make this support real, sufficient funding, sustainable human resources policies, infrastructure programs, and serious investments in digitalization and security are needed. A state that seeks strong justice must invest in strong institutions; otherwise, independence remains only a written norm, without becoming a real guarantee.

Within the system itself, governance councils play a central role in meritocracy, performance and integrity. Appointments, evaluations, disciplinary responsibility and resource management directly affect the standard of justice. Maintaining meritocracy and accountability in governance must be a permanent compass, because the standard of justice is not produced by a single link, but by the functioning of the entire chain.

In this context, responsibility also starts with ourselves. The above-mentioned principles are standard, applicable to all actors in the justice system, but they are most clearly proven in court, where decisions are made and reasoned. Judges, at all levels, bear the most visible burden of independence in decision-making, responsibility in reasoning, and respect in the process. Every decision and every reasoning shapes the way citizens perceive justice and, through it, the state itself.

In this context, the Supreme Court has a special role to contribute to the coherence and predictability of the interpretation of the law and to serve as a model of the standard of reasoning. If this role is exercised consistently, public confidence is gradually strengthened and legal certainty becomes more tangible.

Finally, my word goes to the citizens. Justice exists for you. Expectations for speed, impartiality, integrity and equal treatment are completely legitimate and should guide our institutional responsibility every day. At the same time, justice also needs your civic support: respect for institutions, rejection of any form of intimidation or illegal influence, and trust in the legal process, not in pressure, interference or side-stepping. Justice works when the law is respected by all.

Dear ladies and gentlemen,

This tradition that we begin today must be sustainable over time, not as a repeated ritual, but as a commitment that is strengthened every year. This first ceremony is a pact of faith of justice with society: independence in decision-making, responsibility in standards and respect for the citizen. It reminds us that justice is not only strong when it is independent, but also when it is responsible; not only when it decides, but when it reasons; not only when it judges, but when it listens; not only when it has authority, but when it exercises it with moderation, ethics, and sensitivity.

We have reason to be realistic, because the challenges are concrete and require daily work. We also have reason to be optimistic, because every step towards quality, every step towards coherence, every step towards transparency is a step towards trust. This is the foundation that keeps justice stable, alive as an institution and as a legitimate expectation of citizens.

With this optimism, I have the honor and pleasure to declare the Judicial Year 2026 open, wishing it to be a year of standards, institutional cooperation, and trust, built through honest work.