The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) condemns the killing of Judge Astrit Kalaja, who was shot dead by a lone person while presiding over a hearing at the Tirana Court of Appeal on 6 October 2025. The ICJ calls on the Albanian authorities to carry out a prompt, thorough and impartial investigation, and to take all necessary steps to ensure the protection of judges, lawyers and all others within the justice system.
According to information made public, a 30-year-old man identified by the initials E.Sh. opened fire inside the courtroom during a property-dispute hearing. Judge Kalaja was wounded and died on his way to hospital. Two other participants in the case—reportedly a father and son—were also injured, but their lives are reportedly not in danger. The shooter was detained soon after the attack.
“The courtroom must never become a place of violence,” said Temur Shakirov, Director of the ICJ Europe and Central Asia Programme. “The State has an obligation under international law to take all reasonable and effective measures to protect judges and lawyers from foreseeable risks, to prevent such acts, and to ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice.”
The ICJ recalls that under international human rights law States must guarantee both the independence and the security of their judiciary. The UN Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary (Principle 2) affirm that judges must decide cases free from improper influence, pressure or threats. The UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers stipulate that lawyers must be able to perform their duties “without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference.”
The ICJ urges the Albanian authorities to ensure that the investigation into this attack is prompt, independent and subject to public scrutiny. It further calls for strengthened security in all courts, systematic risk assessments for judicial and legal professionals, and specific protection for those facing threats.
Judge Astrit Kalaja had served in the judiciary for more than three decades and was appointed to the Tirana Court of Appeal in 2019. The hearing during which he was attacked concerned a long-standing property dispute. This is the first killing of a sitting judge in Albania in more than thirty years.
