An Administrative trial – Constitutional control of the provisions of Law no. 112/2020 “On the register of beneficial owners”, amended
In an administrative trial at the Administrative Court of First Instance of Tirana, the Legal Studio “Legale Albania”, represented by Adv. Dr. Lulzim Alushaj in collaboration with Adv. Xhesilda Balashi and Adv. Eva Priska in the capacity of attorney of a company, has submitted to this Court a procedural request for the incidental constitutional control 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 concerning several other constitutional provisions.
This procedural request resulted from a particular case in which NBC, basing its interpretation of the law on the aforementioned provisions, has changed the company’s status from “active” to “inactive” status in the Commercial Register until the payment of the fine and the registration of relevant data for beneficial owners. The company then applied to alter the legal headquarters, a mandatory requirement for all businesses, but this Authority likewise denied the request based on paragraph 4 of Article 13 and paragraph 6 of Article 15/1 of Law No. 112/2020, as amended.
The implementation of these provisions and the harsh penalties violate the fundamental liberties and rights of the company and every other legal organization, which are protected not only by the Albanian Constitution but also by international law that Albania has ratified. The purpose this company was founded was to engage in economic activity and conduct business, which is compatible with both the acquis communautaire and the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice. Precisely these drastic measures, such as the suspension of the activity and further not allowing the registration of the company’s legal headquarters, violate this purpose. As a result, this case has given rise to the need for the administrative trial to seek constitutional interpretation in order to preserve not only the interests and rights of this company, but also those of every legal organization registered in accordance with Albanian law.
The Administrative Court of First Instance of Tirana will determine whether the necessary circumstances exist to refer a request about constitutional control of the law to the Constitutional Court.
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