The best paid High Court Judge for 2015 seems to be the Chair of the High Court, Mr. Xhezair Zaganjori. His incomes seem to differentiate because of his post as the Chair of the Court, and because of his professional, academic, and University-related commitments. His salary is declared to be 2 063 000 lekë, which together with his incomes from his academic engagement with the School of Magistrates and University, goes to 3 323 266 lekë. Mr. Zaganjori is followed by Judge Ardian Nuni, who is ranked second for his professional incomes. In addition to his incomes from his salary for 2015, Mr. Nuni has also declared to have had additional incomes from his paid expertise provided to Advisory Groups of the Ministry of Justice and the Special Working Group of the Justice Reform.
Ten out of seventeen judges have declared incomes from their salaries and bonuses as judges. What is interesting in the incomes that judges declare to have from non-public business companies, which function as universities, is that what judges declare is only the name of the respective universities, which employ them. Actually, the names of such business companies that function as universities, which employ judges, would be a more accurate source of income, and would clearly indicate whether their engagement does represent a potential conflict of interest or incompatibility with their position as a judge on a case-by-case basis.
Source: Money and Power, Spending Data Albania portal
Comments and Analysis: ODA
Honorary fees represent another declared source of income. Thus, Judge Artan Broci declares that he has made 102 000 lekë in 2015 as a member of the High Council of Justice.
Source: Money and Power, Spending Data Albania portal
Comments and Analysis: ODA
Incomes from bank interests on saving deposits, and maturity of securities and obligations represent another source of income. Such declaration reflects the overall monetary state of the judges. There are seven judges, who declare to have had incomes from this source in 2015. Ms. Arjana Fullani is ranked first when it comes from incomes from bank interests. She declares incomes from bank interests and treasury bonds in the amount of 540 663 lekë. She is followed by Ms Evelina Qirjako and Mr. Aleksandër Muskaj.
Incomes of the High Court Members from interests on bank deposits, titles, and securities for 2015
Source: Money and Power, Spending Data Albania portal
Comments and Analysis: ODA
Incomes from rent give also an indication of judge assets. Nine High Court Judges make money from rent. The judge, who has made the highest amount of money from rent, is Shkëlzen Selimi with seven point thirteen million lekë. Evelina Qirjako has also made a considerable amount of money from rent, five point six million lekë. Six judges seem to make more money from rent than from their salary as members of the High Court.
Source: Money and Power, Spending Data Albania portal
Comments and Analysis: ODA
Copyright and the right of publication were declared as a specific source of incomes for 2015 only by one member of the High Court. It is the Chair of the Court, Mr. Xhezair Zaganjori, who declares to have made 190 000 lekë from selling a book and from his copyright for 2015.
Incomes of the High Court Members from Copyright and Publications for 2015
Source: Money and Power, Spending Data Albania portal
Comments and Analysis: ODA
The ranking of judges by incomes of their family members, mainly spouses, is led by Ms Mirela Fana. Her husband, Mr. Neshat Fana, has made 7.9 million leke from his job as a lawyer in 2015 and from his resignation from a commercial company, where he is a partner by an amount of 10.1 million lekë. The reason of his resignation is not specified, but even if such declaration of liquidity was not taken into account for 2015, Ms. Fana would still be on the top of the list.
She is followed by Broci, Zeneli, and Zaganjori families. Looking at the structure of incomes of judge spouses, we see that three spouses work as notaries, one is a judge, one is a lawyer and a former member of the High Council of Justice, three work for high-level public institutions, including the Assembly and the Inspectorate of Declaration of Assets and Control of Conflict of Interest, two are bankers, and one holds a managing position with a public (not private) shareholding company.
Source: Money and Power, Spending Data Albania portal
Comments and Analysis: ODA
Incomes from Obligations paid by Third Parties represent another source of incomes for the Members of the High Court. Such incomes come mainly from selling assets or other contracting rights. In order, however, to clearly understand what is paid as an obligation and what is paid for an alienation of a property, we would first need to know what was the initial price of the respective assets, or property rights being alienated. Lacking such information, we are simply listing incomes from Obligations paid by Third Parties, without categorizing or ranking them. Judges who have declared incomes from such source include Ms. Arjana Fullani, Mr. Ilir Çeliku, and Ms. Majlinda Andrea.
Finally, calculating the total incomes of each member of the High Court, including all the above categories and the incomes of their family members, the list seems to be led by Judge Mirela Fana and Mr. Shkëlzen Selimi. The lowest incomes, on the other hand, seem to have been declared by Judge Edmond Islamaj. His declared annual incomes are precisely equal to that of his annual salary. Medi Bici is another judge, whose total annual incomes, including those of his family members, are equal to 143% of the annual salary of a member of the High Court.
Source: Money and Power, Spending Data Albania portal
Comments and Analysis: ODA
Incomes declared in foreign currency are converted into Albanian lek, using the average annual exchange rate of the Bank of Albania for 2015. Any ranking reflects judges incomes for 2015 only, and not their total wealth. Their detailed declarations are available under the Money and Power section of the Spending Data Albania portal. There, you may also find the annual and initial declarations of every judge, and of any other high-level officials. Judge ranking can also be downloaded in the Excel format.
According to their declarations for 2015, a member of the High Court makes an average amount of more than 6.5 million lekë per year, or more than 730 000 lekë per month, i.e. seven times more than the judge salary. However, it is worth mentioning that the average annual incomes for judges in 2015 are no higher than those of the MPs, who, according to Open Data Albania analysis, seem to make about 8.4 times more money per year than their annual salary.
Contribution by: Griselda Ruci