Confidentiality re documents and information

Republic of Albania

Albania - Criminal Procedure Code 1995 (2017) EN

CHAPTER III TOOLS FOR SEARCHING EVIDENCE
SECTION III SEQUESTRATIONS
Article 211 Obligation to hand over and maintain secrecy
1. Persons bound to maintain professional or state secrecy must immediately hand over to the proceeding authority acts and documents, even in the original copies, and anything else being kept by them because of their duty, service or profession, except when they declare in writing that it is a state secret or a secret related to their duty or profession. In the latter case, the necessary verifications shall be conducted and, when it results that the declaration is groundless, the proceeding authority shall order for the sequestration.
2. When the competent authority confirms the state secrecy status, the proceeding authority shall inform the competent authority asking for confirmation to be given, and evidence is crucial to the solution of the case, the proceeding authority shall decide to acquire the evidence.
3. When within thirty days from the request the competent authority does not confirm the secrecy status, the proceeding authority shall order the sequestration.

Article 211/a Sequestration at the offices of the intelligence services
1. Where it is necessary to perform sequestrations of documents, acts or other items at the offices of the intelligence services, the activity of which is connected to the national security, the court shall, in the reasoning of the sequestration decision, indicate in a detailed manner as possible, the acts or items being subject to sequestration.
2. The court shall authorise the prosecutor for examining the documents, acts and items to be sequestered, who he shall take only those which are indispensable for the purposes of the investigation.
3. Where there are reasonable grounds to believe that the documents, acts or items are not made available or are not complete, the court shall inform the competent body, which shall proceed to the delivery of the documents, acts or other items or to confirm their absence.
4. Where the need emerges for obtaining the original or the copy of the document, act or item created by a foreign intelligence service, having been given on the condition of non- dissemination, the examination and handover shall be suspended. In this case, the competent
authority is promptly notified to communicate with the foreign authority for deciding on the further maintenance of secrecy. Within 60 days, the competent body shall authorise the handover of the document, act or item, or confirm the need to preserve the State secrecy.
5. If the competent body does not respond within the time limit provided for in paragraph 4, of this article, the court shall order the taking of the document, act or item subject to sequestration.

Rome Statute

Article 93 Other forms of cooperation

8.

(a) The Court shall ensure the confidentiality of documents and information, except as required for the investigation and proceedings described in the request.

(b) The requested State may, when necessary, transmit documents or information to the Prosecutor on a confidential basis. The Prosecutor may then use them solely for the purpose of generating new evidence.

(c) The requested State may, on its own motion or at the request of the Prosecutor, subsequently consent to the disclosure of such documents or information. They may then be used as evidence pursuant to the provisions of Parts 5 and 6 and in accordance with the Rules of Procedure and Evidence.