Arguments: The Effort to Reform Albania’s Libel Laws

Darian Pavli, a lawyer working for the Open Society Justice Initiative on freedom of expression and information, reviews the steps that led to the reform of Albania’s strict libel laws in 2012, and assesses the impact of the reforms.

He writes: “The reforms were the culmination of many years of lobbying by local and international actors, spanning three consecutive legislatures. They are also an interesting case study of a long-term effort to generate political momentum for politically unpalatable reforms: defamation law changes are notoriously difficult to achieve in young  (and sometimes older) democracies since they are often perceived by the political class as a matter of personal and  political survival.”

This paper was originally published on the website of the Albanian Media Institute, which receives funding from the Open Society Foundations.