Known as the “Albanian FBI”, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is an independent structure foreseen in the Constitution of Albania, responsible for the investigation of criminal offenses in the criminal jurisdiction of the Special Prosecution Office. The NBI is a part of the Special Anti-Corruption Structure (SPAK) together with the Special Prosecutor Office responsible to investigate and prosecute acts of corruption and other crimes related to it. As an independent investigative body, NBI will serve as a contact point with the investigative authorities of other nations regarding crimes of corruption. The National Bureau of Investigation has received a lot of support from international actors which keep pushing the government of Albania to establish the NBI without further delays. Experts from international structures for justice reform, EURALIUS and OPDAT are continuously supporting Albania in this direction. The creation of the NBI structure as a response to a rather high level of corruption and organized crime in Albania foreseen with the justice reform package, aims to open a new chapter of establishment of trusted, efficient and credible judicial institutions.

This Analysis is organized as follows: a. State of Play and Analysis of the Law on Organization of Institutions for Combating Corruption and Organized Crime; b. Analysis of the Opinion of Venice Commission regarding National Bureau of Investigation; c. Analysis of the verdict of the Constitutional Court of Albania regarding the older version of NBI; d.Comparative analysis with Croatia’s institution for combating corruption; e. Concluding lessons from Albania’s case to be used for future references.