The Albanian capital became the epicenter of the international legal debate by hosting the Opening Session of the World Law Congress 2027. Organised by the World Jurist Association and the Ministry of Justice of Albania, the event gathered magistrates, academic leaders, and institutional representatives from around the world at the National Opera House in Tirana.

This inaugural session officially marks the beginning of the countdown to the congress, which will take place in Albania in May 2027.

Albanian and international institutional commitment

During the inaugural session, the Minister of Justice of Albania, Toni Gogu, highlighted the role of the judicial reform driven in the country during the last decade and defended the need to continue strengthening democratic institutions. “The great challenge of our time is not only to draft good laws, but to preserve society’s trust in justice and in its institutions,” he stated.

For his part, Javier Cremades, president of the World Jurist Association, valued the institutional evolution of Albania and alerted about the challenges currently faced by democracies. “We live in a moment in which democracies are tired and autocracies become increasingly functional,” Cremades warned. Likewise, he defended the need to reinforce the Rule of Law, judicial independence and access to truthful information as fundamental pillars of democratic societies.

One of the central moments of the day was the intervention of the prime minister of Albania, Edi Rama, who made a journey through the progress achieved since the beginning of the judicial reform and underlined the importance of protecting democracies through solid institutions. “We are building the conditions for Albania to be a country governed by the Rule of Law and not by force,” stated the prime minister, who additionally underlined that “the judicial reform has put an end to immunity and has reinforced equality before the law,” Rama affirmed before representatives of the international legal community.

The Opening Session kicked off with an audiovisual presentation on the democratic transition of Albania, the main milestones of its judicial reform and the process of European integration of the country, under the central message: “The Rule of law is not taken for granted. It is built”.

The program also included a video message from Mattias Guyomar, president of the European Court of Human Rights, in which he highlighted that “today, once again, our world is moving away from the fundamental values and principles of international law. In a moment like this, we need the unity and solidarity of all the jurists of the world.”

The event included a high-level roundtable titled “Ten Years After: Lessons and Perspectives”, moderated by Elisabeth Cassin, Member of the World Law Foundation. The panel featured global experts including: Darian Pavli, Judge of the European Court of Human Rights; Shimon Shetreet, President of the International Association of Judicial Independence and World Peace (JIWP); Bhuwan Ribhu, Founder of Just Rights for Children; Ricardo Hausmann, Founder & Director of Harvard’s Growth Lab; and Teresa Rodríguez de las Heras Ballell, President of the European Law Institute.

The session concluded with the intervention of Ángela Montoya, CEO of the World Law Foundation, who highlighted the global dimension that the next edition of the congress will have and the strategic role of Albania as a bridge between Europa and the international legal community. 

With this Opening Session, Tirana officially begins the countdown to the World Law Congress 2027, which will be held on May 3, 4 and 5 of next year, reinforcing the international commitment to the defense of the Rule of Law, judicial independence and cooperation between democratic institutions.