Hate Crime Report Card – Albania
The Framework of Criminal Law
Legislation on Bias-motivated Violence: None
| Bias-motivated Violent Crimes as Specific Offenses | Bias as an Express General Aggravating Factor | Bias as an Aggravating Factor in Specific Common Crimes |
Bias Types Covered by Provisions on Aggravating Circumstances: N/A
| Race/National Origin/Ethnicity | Religion | Sexual Orientation | Gender | Disability | Other |
The Albanian Criminal Code does not contain provisions that expressly enable the racist or other bias motives of the offender to be taken into account by the courts as an aggravating circumstance in sentencing. In its Third Report on Albania, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) notes that Albanian authorities maintained that a provision treating bias-crime as a separate offense would be “problematic in the Albanian legal system” and stated that they were taking steps to allow the racist motivation of a crime to be considered an aggravating factor in sentencing.[1]
ECRI reiterated its previous recommendation that Albania “explicitly provide in criminal law that racist motivation constitutes a specific aggravating circumstance for all offences,” yet praised Albanian Authorities for carrying out “a range of measures aimed at improving the functioning of the judicial system” which included improved training of police officers, prosecutors, and judges in areas relating to “issues of racism, discrimination and intolerance.”[2]
[1] ECRI, “Third Report on Albania,” adopted on December 17, 2004 and made public on June 14, 2005, para. 11.
[2] ECRI, “Third Report on Albania,” para. 10.
