Securityarchives Portal

Every person has the right to ask to be informed by the Authority as to whether there is information about his own self in the documents administered and to receive this information, when there is such.

Public authorities and other subjects provided by this law have access to the documents of Former State Security.

When an affected person, third party, relatives of those who have died or disappeared, collaborators or favoured persons of Former State Security submit, in public, of their own will, documents with information about their person. That information is permitted to be used for the purposes for which it was requested.

The use of personal data to the detriment of affected persons or third parties is prohibited when those data have been obtained secretly or illegally, except for cases of use for the following purposes: a) use for purposes of the rehabilitation of persons who have died or disappeared; b) when those data turn out to be entirely or partially wrong because of the information collected.

The Authority takes measures for the temporary prohibition of the use of the documents of Former State Security when the prosecutor’s office or the court determines that investigative activity, criminal prosecution or the progress or conclusion of a criminal proceeding that has been registered may be damaged by their use. This prohibition ends when the use of the documents no longer constitutes a risk for the criminal proceeding.

The Authority takes measures for the temporary or permanent prohibition of the data of Former State Security when it judges that their use may constitute a real danger to national security.

A requester has the right to learn about the documents when he has the quality of an affected person, a third party, a collaborator or favoured person of Former State Security or is a representative of the latter with a power of attorney. This right includes learning about and examining the original documents or duplicates of them.

The Authority gives affected persons the information about the documents that exist and were prepared about them, at their request. An affected person gives data in the request, when such exist, that enable the documents to be found.

The right to ask for information about the existence of documents of Former State Security about persons who have died and those declared to have disappeared, as well as to examine the documents and have duplicates made available, is also recognized to their family members according to this priority ranking: a) spouses; b) children; c) children of children, when the persons provided in letters “a” and “b” have died or been declared to have disappeared; ç) parents, when the persons provided in letters “a”, “b” and “c” have died or been declared to have disappeared; d) brothers and sisters, when the persons provided in letters “a”, “b”, “c” and “ç” have died or been declared to have disappeared; dh) the children of brothers and sisters, when the persons of the above ranks have died or been declared to have disappeared.

The Authority gives collaborators of the Former State Security information about the documents that exist and that were prepared about them, at their request. The information may also include a description of the type and amount of activity, a description of the circle of persons reported on, and also the frequency of the reports

The Authority gives information to favoured persons about the documents that exist and that were prepared about them, at their request.

The Authority notifies and makes access possible to the documents, and issues documents to, constitutional institutions, public authorities and other subjects provided by law.

Law 45/2015, amended, has the purpose of defining rules and procedures to make possible the exercise of the right to be informed about the documents of the Former State Security by every interested person, through a democratic and transparent process, the protection of the personality of the individual and also the unity of national harmony. In the service of implementing this law, the public authorities refer to and implement, to the extent possible, the legislation in force on the protection of personal data, as well as the legislation in force on the right to be informed, the archives and information classified as a “state secret”.

Public and other entities, provided for in this law have access to the documents of the Former State Security Service, to the extent permissible by the law. The Authority makes available to the respective governmental authorities any information obtained in the course of the exercise of its activity, when this is part of the investigation and criminal prosecution purposes. The Authority notifies and makes access possible to the documents, and issues documents to, constitutional institutions, public authorities and other subjects provided by law, to the extent and for the purposes permitted by this law.

2. A constitutional institution and public Authority addresses a request to the Authority to be

informed about the documents of the Former State Security for purposes of fulfilling its functions.

3. Before answering, the Authority checks whether the request for notification, examination or

delivery of the documents:

a) contains a permissible purpose of use;

b) is in the framework of the duties of the requester, and to what extent;

c) the use is essential for the purpose declared.

Request to be informed about officials before election/promotion

(amended comma 2 and 4 by law no. 114/2020, dated 29.7.2020)

1. The Authority has the obligation to respond to every request of the constitutional institutions and public authorities in connection with the existence of information in the documents of former

State Security, when this is requested in the framework of an evaluation, according to the respective legislation, of the ethical, moral and professional qualities of candidates for being appointed or promoted to such duties as:

a) President of the Republic; b) member of the Council of Ministers, deputy ministers, political functionaries, members of the body of the high management level in the state administration and positions equivalent to them;  c) members of the High Council of Justice, judges and prosecutors in the courts and prosecutor’s offices of all levels; ç) members of the Constitutional Court; d) functionaries in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Albania, the General Staff of the Army, the Republican Guard, officers with the rank of “General” and “Colonel”; dh) prefects; e) directors and employees of the State Information Service, the Military Information Service and every other intelligence unit; ë) directors in the State Police up to the level of region and commissariat; f) directors of diplomatic representations; g) governors and deputy governors of the Bank of Albania; gj) members of the Academy of Science, rectors, deputy rectors, deans [and] deputy deans in public universities; h) the General Director and deputy directors of Albanian Public Radio-Television; i) the Director and Deputy Director of the Albanian Telegraphic Agency; j) every other person decreed by the President or elected by the Assembly.

The Authority shall answer to the constitutional institutions and public authorities for the official who is appointed or promoted, for the period defined in article 2 of this law, respectively whether he/she:

a) has been or not prosecuted for espionage or terrorism; b) has been or not a member, collaborator, favored of the Former State Security, according to the provisions of this law; c) appears or not in the Former State Security documents

The national institutions and public authorities are guided by the principle of non-collective punishment and the rights and interests of the individual.

Request by candidates to be elected

The Authority has the obligation to respond, according to points 2 and 3 of article 29, to every request submitted by candidates for deputy in the Parliament of Albania, mayors of a municipality or commune and chairmen of a regional council, in connection with the existence about them of information in the documents of Former State Security, when this is requested by them for purposes of transparency of the figure during electoral campaigns.

When requested by the subjects and for the purpose provided in comma 1 of this article, the Authority informs them, according to point 2 of article 29 of this law, about persons who, in the period defined in article 2 of this law, show up as:

a) a member or candidate of the Political Bureau, member of the Central Committee of the Albanian Party of Labour, member of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, Chairman of the High Court, General Prosecutor, Chairman of the General Investigative Office, member of the Council of Ministers, chairman of the branches of internal affairs, member of the Central Commission of Banishment/Internments, investigator, prosecutor, judge in special political proceedings, or a high level employee of Former State Security; b) active collaborator of Former State Security, according to the definitions of this law, or denouncer or witness for the accusation in special political proceedings, after becoming 18. c) person with data from the Former State Security for espionage or terrorism.

One of the three main areas where the Authority's five-year activity has been focused is the assessment of the ethical, moral and professional qualities of candidates/officials before appointment or promotion, a process that includes many institutions and officials such as the President of the Republic; members of the Council of Ministers, political functionaries, deputies, members of the High Council of Justice, judges and prosecutors in courts and prosecutor's offices of all levels; members of the Constitutional Court; functionaries in the Armed Forces, the General Staff of the Army, the Guard of the Republic, officers with the rank of "General" and "Colonel"; managers and employees of the State Intelligence Service, Defense Intelligence Agency; leaders in the State Police, leaders of diplomatic missions, etc. as well as any requests submitted by candidates for deputies in the Assembly of Albania, mayors and district council presidents, regarding the existence for them of information in documents of the Former State Security, when this is requested by them for purposes of image transparency , during the electoral campaigns

During the first mandate 2017-2021, the Authority has successfully carried out and within the deadlines required by the institutions, the procedures for evaluating the ethical, moral and professional qualities of the candidates to be elected to the new vetting bodies Members of the Independent Qualification Commission , as well as judges of the Special Appeal Board (Vetting), candidates for election to the KLP, KLJ, KED, members of the Constitutional Court, members of the Supreme Court, judges in the Special Court of Appeal for Corruption and Organized Crime, SPAK, BKH, General Prosecutor, High Inspectorate of Justice, External Evaluation Commission, Guard of the Republic, School of Magistrates, etc. a total of 2,189 candidates were verified Central figures with weight and importance in the political life of the country have been verified, such as the President of the Republic, the General, the People's Advocate, members of the CEC, leaders and employees of the State Information Service, the Defense Intelligence Agency; heads of the State Police, heads of diplomatic missions, members of the Academy of Sciences, the Assembly of the Republic of Albania, the Ministry of Justice, the Department of Public Administration, the Institute of Political Studies, etc., until March 31, 2020 and after an interruption of process until the entry into force of the legal changes, this process has resumed, which constitutes progress in the coefficient of recognition and implementation of the law, evaluation for the institution and credibility for the public.

For the new legal vetting process (KLP, KED, KLJ, SPAK, BKH, High Inspectorate of Justice, Prosecutor, etc.), a total of 578 candidates have been verified, of which 13 candidates appear in Former state Security documents as Former -investigators, Former prosecutors or Former members of the judicial body in political processes related to the scope of the law no. 45/2015 as amended and 565 are found to be clean.

In 2022, functional law no. 45/2015, underwent changes and additions to its special provisions, which through addressing the obstacles in the existing legislation, repealing the prohibitive legal provisions that prevented the Authority from disposing of the competence given by the Lawmaker, making tools and mechanisms available necessary for the realization of the purpose of the law, help in the correct implementation and truthfully and transparently reflect the activity, improve and harmonize the legal framework of the institution's activity with other laws, expand the circle of subjects that are informed, serving you not only those who have been directly the subjects of the files of the Former State Security, but every Albanian citizen who wants to know the history of one of the fiercest communist regimes, as well as the media or scientific research, providing guarantees through the implementation of procedures during the administrative investigation, cooperation with central institutions, the verification of the image of the subjects is expanded, including every citizen proposed for the decoration of an honorary title or for the naming of streets, squares, public spaces and historical, cultural monuments, etc.

Scientific research and civic education

Pursuant to Article 36, 37, 38 of Law no. 45/2015 "On the right to information about the documents of the Former State Security of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania", amended, and Article 42 of the Regulation on the Organization and Functioning of the Authority for Information on the Documents of the Former State Security, The Authority is responsible for:

• Informing researchers and the media interested in the documents of the Former State Security, as well as guaranteeing the examination and delivery of their duplicates to the applicant, within the time limits defined in by-laws issued pursuant to organic law 45/2015, of changed;
• The support of research activity, of scientific research with the aim of historical review of the activity of the Former State Security or of civic education, by guaranteeing the opportunity to examine documents and submit duplicate documents.
• As a function of civic education, with the aim of informing citizens about the documents and activities of the Former State Security as a whole, and with a focus on the younger generations in particular, the Authority develops activities that help shape civil awareness for the reconstruction of the narrative of the past. communist, based on scientific research, within the scope of this law.

Scientific support is mainly based on processing the requests of researchers and the media for research purposes and making available the requested archival documentation. This process is complex as it pertains to research requirements, when from 1 to 400 files are made available for a request, therefore it takes time from searching the archive, identifying the files, digitizing, making the data unreadable for third parties, indexing information, summarizing the file in reference texts, contacting family members and making it available to researchers.

This practice is closely related to civic education, where the treated materials are also used for public communication of the institution on the files of the dictatorship; This practice is closely related to civic education, where the treated materials are also used for public communication of the institution on the files of the dictatorship. The Authority develops activities that help shape civil awareness for the reconstruction of the narrative of the communist past, based on scientific research, within the scope of this law

The application for access to documents created by the Former State Security at the Authority is done by completing the standard form for researchers/media. Researchers fill out the form at the Authority's offices or online through the official website at the link http://autoritetidosjeve.gov.al/formular-aplikimi-per-kerkues-per-qellime-kerkimore-shkencore-institucion-media-studiues;

By the end of 2022, a total of 567 media study requests have been submitted, from local and foreign researchers, as well as from local and foreign institutions. The requests are voluminous in terms of the object and the identified documents, including the time period '44-91' and files identified from 1-400, with a no. voluminous pages 500-5000 pages; Over the years, more than 2153 files have been placed, with about 303,894 processed pages, among which about 74,259 have gone through the process of anonymizing personal data.

The Authority has signed cooperation agreements with about 24 educational institutions, universities, academies, memory institutes and associations, etc. with the aim of institutionalizing relations for the application of mutual cooperation procedures between the parties, within the framework of joint study, commemorative projects, etc.

The Directorate of Scientific Support realizes inter-institutional projects and not only those organized by the institution, which has taken a central role in the public debate on issues of the communist past, such as the Tepelena camp, the disappeared in communism, the artists and writers under surveillance, political emigration, where with round tables, conferences, scientific symposia and local dialogues throughout the country, it managed to position itself among the institutions of memory, with a role in the present and the future of Albania. Also, this directorate covers all the diverse and complex activity related to communication with the public, publications in paper and online (decisions, bulletins, reports, publications of the Authority, brochures), the organization of conferences, tables, visits, etc., of the Authority, contacts with partners, Albanian and international counterparts, institutional and collaborative projects, contacts and preliminary work for inter-institutional agreements, the issue of the missing as it pertains to the project with ICMP, field meetings, work with testimonies within projects, coordination with third parties, etc. During the year 2021, 33 different activities were organized.

As part of the memory, two memorials created and implemented by the Authority have been placed for the first time in two places of remembrance, in Tepelena and Maliq, where until today there were no informative plaques. 59 books as well as online publications, physical and virtual exhibitions, testimonies and documentaries, have been produced by the Authority, in collaboration with partners, which are presented on the online pages of the institution, which over the years has escalated the opportunity to reach generations, society, the public. The researched materials have been translated into English to internationalize the causes undertaken and presented to the world. Three online sites are currently administered by the Authority, following earlier projects.

Even the walls have ears, with oral testimonies, with the profiles of political convicts, opponents of the system, the reading platform and social networks, where the Authority has worked to be present, accessible and as close as possible to young people. Important topics were touched in Shkodër, Malësi te Madhe, Vermosh, Pukë, Burrel, Kurbin, Tirana, Durrës, Elbasan, Lushnjë, Belsh, Savër, Gostime, Berat, Korçë, Voskopoja, Maliq, Përmet, Tepelën, Gjirokastër, Himarë, Saranda, Konispol. It has also worked with international institutions and the Albanian diaspora in the USA, Belgium, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Estonia, Israel.