Administrative judgment – ​​Constitutional review of the provisions of law no. 11/2020 “on the register of beneficial owners”, amended

The “Legale Albania” Law Firm, represented by Lulzim Alushaj in collaboration with Xhesilda Balashi and Eva Priska, in an administrative proceeding before the Administrative Court of First Instance of Tirana where it represents a commercial entity, subject to the provisions of Law no. 112/2020, has filed with the latter an application for an incidental constitutional review of paragraph 4 of Article 13 and paragraph 6 of Article 15/1 of Law no. 112/2020 “On the register of beneficial owners”, amended in relation to other constitutional provisions. This application is the consequence of a specific case where QKB, on the basis of the aforementioned provisions, interpreted the law and subsequently changed the status of the Company in the Commercial Register from “active” to “suspended” until the payment of the fine and the registration of the data for the beneficial owners. Subsequently, the Company made an application for the change of registered office, which is mandatory for every legal entity, which was rejected by this institution, based on paragraph 4 of Article 13 and paragraph 6 of Article 15/1 of Law No. 112/2020, as amended. The application of these provisions and the serious measures provided for therein, flagrantly violate the fundamental rights and freedoms of the Company and of any legal entity, guaranteed not only by the Constitution but also by international law that Albania has ratified. Precisely these drastic measures, the suspension of the activity and also the fact of not allowing the registration of the registered office of the company, violate the purpose for which this company was established, namely the right to exercise economic activity and to do business, for which it finds no compatibility even with the acquis communautaire and the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice. Consequently, this case has become a cause for requesting during the administrative trial the interpretation at the constitutional level not only for the defense of the interests and rights of the company, but of any legal person registered under Albanian law. It will be the Administrative Court of First Instance of Tirana that will assess whether the conditions exist to submit an application to the Constitutional Court for the constitutional control of the law.