EU impact on Albanian medical civil liability: a case law approach

Abstract

Albania, a small Western European nation, has long pursued EU accession as a strategic objective. The constitutional reform of 2016 was intended to align national legal frameworks with EU standards; however, it failed to secure parliamentary approval. Despite this setback, comparable outcomes may be achieved through an interpretative approach to EU primary law, the Albanian Constitution, and the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the EU. This paper underscores the significance of jurisprudence constante and conducts a comparative analysis of EU and Albanian case law in the field of medical law, with a particular focus on patients’ rights and medical civil liability. While the first part examines the legal framework governing access to healthcare services in cross-border contexts, highlighting the role of EU law in shaping national healthcare policies, the second part explores the extent to which EU norms, whether explicitly or implicitly, inform national adjudication of medical civil liability disputes in Albania. By engaging in this analysis, the paper seeks to elucidate the evolving interaction between supranational legal principles and domestic legal orders in the realm of medical civil liability.