The High Judicial Council has rejected the request of Pamela Qirko, former member and former chair of the Independent Qualification Commission (IKC), who sought to be appointed as a judge at the Court of Appeal of General Jurisdiction.

Pamela Qirko, also known to the public as the sister of former Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku, was part of the list of 10 lawyers from vetting institutions who had applied to join the Court of Appeals system after the end of their constitutional mandate.

At the plenary meeting held this Friday, the Council made the decision to reject her request, not giving her the green light to wear the black robe in the second instance of the judiciary.

Together with Qirko, the KLGJ also rejected the requests of 9 of her other colleagues from the KPK (Suela Zhegu, Firdes Shuli, Alma Faskaj, Brunilda Bekteshi, Olsi Komici, Valbona Sanxhaktari, Xhensila Pine, Etleda Çiftja and Roland Ilia), temporarily closing the path for their direct passage to the Appellate Panels. (BalkanWeb)

Notice:

Today, on 10.07.2026, the High Judicial Council held its next Plenary Meeting, in which it reviewed the following issues:

In fulfillment of legal obligations, the Council approved the ethical and professional evaluation report of Judge Ms. Brunilda Kadi, for the year 2024.

The Council decided to postpone the review of the draft decision "On the ethical and professional evaluation of judge Mr. Adrian Shega for the period 2021-2023".

The Council decided to appoint by lot the rapporteur for disciplinary proceedings no. 1/2026, initiated against magistrate Ms. Suela Dashi, with the function of judge at the Court of First Instance of General Jurisdiction in Gjirokastër.

The Council decided to extend the term of appointment in the delegation scheme of Judge Mr. Sokol Ibi.

Subsequently, the Council approved the decision to reassign the judge of the delegation scheme, Mr. Sokol Ibi, to the Administrative Court of Appeal.

The Council decided to reject the requests for appointment to the position of judge in the Court of Appeal of General Jurisdiction for:

Mrs. Suela Zhegu;
Mrs. Firdes Shuli;
Mrs. Alma Faskaj;
Mrs. Brunilda Bekteshi;
Mrs. Pamela Qirko;
Mr. Olsi Komici;
Mrs. Valbona Sanxhaktari;
Mrs. Jensila Pine;
Mrs. Etleda Çiftja;
Mr. Roland Ilia.
After the draw, the Council decided to replace the employee responsible for the evaluation, Ms. Merita Karaj, in the ethical and professional evaluation procedures of judges.

Further, the Council decided to declare the completed without a final decision the procedure for verifying assets and character for the candidate for the initial training program, at the School of Magistrates, academic year 2026-2027, legal assistant profile, Ms. Kledjana Llalla.

The Council decided to postpone the consideration of the draft decision "On the redistribution (transfer) of budgetary funds in program 03310, the budget of the courts, to current expenses, for the budget year 2026".

In conclusion, the Council decided to approve the minutes of the meetings of the High Judicial Council of 29.04.2026 and 06.05.2026.