Head of Albania’s High Court, Sokol Sadushi, said the country’s constitutional review process cannot be replaced by another dialogue table as a dispute over judges’ salaries remains under consideration by the Constitutional Court.

Speaking at the General Assembly of Judges, where three members are expected to be elected, Sadushi addressed the ongoing debate over magistrates’ salaries and a consultation meeting convened by the prime minister with justice institutions.

Sadushi said that, as long as the law governing judges’ salaries and claims regarding its constitutionality are being reviewed by the Constitutional Court, the matter should be resolved through the court’s constitutional mandate.

“The Constitution is not negotiable. Nor can constitutional adjudication be replaced by a dialogue table,” Sadushi said.

He stressed that his position does not mean institutional dialogue should be abandoned. According to Sadushi, institutions should remain willing to meet, present their positions and discuss their arguments while maintaining their respective constitutional powers.

“Being present at the table does not mean giving up our positions or accepting the premises of the other side. Dialogue is not submission,” he said.

Sadushi described the issue of judicial salaries as significant because it is linked to guarantees of judicial independence. At the same time, he argued that a serious dialogue between state powers should extend beyond salaries alone.

He called for discussions on the number of judges and prosecutors, filling vacant positions, reducing the backlog of cases, shortening judicial proceedings, improving court administration, technology and infrastructure, as well as judicial security and funding.

In this context, Sadushi proposed the creation of a “Roundtable on the Functioning and Consolidation of the Justice System” as a long-term institutional process involving the branches of government.

“Powers are separate, but the state is one,” Sadushi said, emphasizing that institutional cooperation should take place while respecting the independence of the judiciary.