The Role of Criminal Law as an Anti-corruption Tool in the Public Sector

The Albanian society is making efforts for the consolidation of democratic institutions and the fulfillment of standards as a condition for European integration. In the context of these efforts, the fight against corruption remains a major challenge. The need to address the fight against it is one of the main issues of public interest. Corruption in the field of public administration is one of the most disturbing phenomena of the Albanian society. European Commission Progress Report 2011 for Albania considers public administration reform as one of the key priorities. To this end, the Albanian government has undertaken concrete steps to combat and prevent corruption in the public sector in particular. Concrete steps in the context of the fight against corruption,consists on a very important place which is given to legal reform, especially the amendment of criminal legislation as an important war of the fight against corruption. Although the legal framework has improved significantly, there has been no proper success in changing the reality in relation to the prevention and suppression of corruption. Studies and surveys indicate an improvement of the situation, but the corruption practices in the public sector continue to be embodied as the economic dimension, as well as in social. The purpose of this paper is to present some issues regarding anticorruption legal reform in the field of public administration based on an analysis of international law, provisions of the Criminal Code and special laws aimed at preventing and combating corruption in the public sector. More specifically, the paper will focus on: - Analysis of the Criminal Code amendments that occurred as a result of demand for harmonization of legislation with international conventions in this field, and the importance in combating corruption in the public sector. - Analysis of legislation and other measures in the field of public administration that enable the prevention and suppression of certain behaviors related to acts of corruption in the sector. - Identification of issues related to the practical application of these provisions in view of the fight against this phenomenon. - Identification of relevant suggestions to increase the effectiveness of anti-corruption measures and mechanisms to control and fight against corruption in public administration.