Within the structure of the Authority for the Information on Documents of the former State Security operates the Information Directorate, which, based on the law, performs its function on the basis of requests from public institutions and citizens for:
– informing individual requesters about the documents of the former State Security.
– informing requesters from any person about the documents of the former State Security. (Article 20, point 1.1.)
In fulfillment of the main objective and purpose of the Authority’s activity to guarantee the right of every citizen to view information created or collected about them by the former State Security.
According to the law, relatives (heirs) may also view the files of a family member who is deceased, following the legal order of inheritance, either the family member themselves or by authorizing another person through a power of attorney.
Citizens will be able to gain access to these files after submitting a request to the Authority accompanied by the legally required documentation. Always in accordance with and respecting the provisions in force, to protect the privacy rights of any third party and to ensure respect for human rights and the dignity of all persons.
Providing timely access to these documents remains a priority of the Authority, a primary duty of the Information Directorate.
The Directorate consists of the following sectors:
– Sector for individual information requests,
– Sector for citizens’ requests and rehabilitative services,
The law has established the rules and procedures to enable any interested person to exercise the right to information about the documents of the former State Security, through a democratic and transparent process, the protection of the individual’s personality, as well as national unity and reconciliation.
This law applies to the documents of the former State Security of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the People’s Socialist Republic of Albania for the period from November 29, 1944, until the establishment of the National Intelligence Service, July 2, 1991, which are held by all archives of the archival network of the Republic of Albania and relate to the political criminal offenses provided for in Law no. 7514, dated September 30, 1991, “On the innocence, amnesty, and rehabilitation of former convicts and political persecuted persons,” as amended, regardless of whether a sentence was imposed for these offenses by the competent organs of the communist regime.
Interested persons submit a request to the Authority to be informed about the documents of the former State Security.
Kërkesa për të marrë informacionin bëhet me shkrim duke u paraqitur pranë Autoritetit, duke e dërguar në adresën tonë elektronike info@autoritetidosjeve.gov.al ose me rrugë postare , në adresën (AIDSSH, Njësia Administrative nr.4, Rruga e Dibrës, Garnizoni “Skënderbej”, Tiranë).
The requester, together with the application, submits in every case a copy of the identity card and, depending on the status, may authorize a representative with a special power of attorney.
When the requester considers that their application should be treated with priority, they justify the need and urgency in the request. The Authority accepts that there is an urgent need when the requested information is needed for rehabilitation purposes, compensation, avoidance of infringement on private life or moral damage, or verification of the fact of non-collaboration with the former State Security.
The Authority provides the information in writing, except when another form of information delivery is necessary.
The requester may be any natural or legal person, domestic or foreign, as well as stateless persons.
The requester may be in the capacity of:
– the affected person; (Article 21),
– any person; (Article 20, point 1.1),
– the third party; (Article 21),
– a relative of the affected person or the deceased or missing person, with priority according to the order of inheritance; (Articles 22, 22/1),
– the collaborator; (Article 23)
– the beneficiary; (Article 24),
The citizen, to submit an information request, follows one of the methods below:
Physically at the Authority and with the assistance of a specialist from the Information Directorate, they complete the standard form (approved by decision no. 3 dated 30.01.2017 of the Authority) and attach the relevant documentation.
Plotësojnë formularin standard (që gjendet në faqen tonë në format pdf) duke e dërguar në adresën tonë elektronike info@autoritetidosjeve.gov.al ose në adresën postare (AIDSSH, Njësia Administrative nr.4, Rruga e Dibrës, Garnizoni’’Skenderbej’’, Tiranë).
A – In the case when the requester seeks information about themselves:
First, complete SECTION A where the requester's data is entered.
First name, last name, patronymic, date of birth, personal identification number, place of birth, exact residential address, phone number, email address (if any).
Section B is left blank.
In Section C, the data are completed according to the fields related to:
► if the requester has had other first names or surnames,
► the requester’s mother’s first name and the mother’s maiden surname,
► if the requester has other citizenships besides Albanian,
► In Section C, point 34, the status of the requester is completed (affected person, third party, heir, collaborator, beneficiary, etc.),
► In Section C, point 35, the reason for submitting the request is completed (one or more reasons),
► In Section C, point 36, it is indicated whether the requester’s application should be processed through the regular procedure or with priority, referring to and justifying according to the criteria of point 37,
► In Section C, point 38, the requester provides data to facilitate the identification of archival documentation related to the place where the event occurred or the time, if they were sentenced as part of a group, the number of group members’ names, or the connection to specific events, etc.,
In Section D, the submitted documentation and the applicant’s signature are completed.
B – In the case when the applicant requests for relatives, (heirs) :
In Section A, all the requester’s data are completed.
In Section B, the data of the person for whom information is requested (the relative) are completed, in cases when they are deceased and have no first-order heirs such as spouse, children, etc., according to the legal order of inheritance or by power of attorney.
In Section C, the data are completed according to the fields related to:
► if the person for whom information is requested has had other first names or surnames,
► the mother’s first name and mother’s maiden surname of the person for whom information is requested,
► if the person for whom information is requested has other citizenships besides Albanian,
► In Section C point 34, the status of the requester is completed (affected person, third party, heir, collaborator, beneficiary, etc.),
► In Section C point 35, the reason for submitting the request is completed (one or more reasons),
► In Section C point 36, it is indicated whether the requester’s application should be processed through the regular procedure or with priority, referring to and justifying according to the criteria of point 37,
► In Section C point 38, the requester provides data to facilitate the identification of archival documentation related to the place where the event occurred or the time, if sentenced as part of a group, the number of group members’ names, or the connection to specific events, etc.
► In Section D, the submitted documentation and the applicant’s signature are completed.
In every case, all data related to the applicant (requester) must be completed in the Standard Form approved by the Authority.
Based on Article 21/4 of the law, after becoming acquainted with the materials provided, the requester has the right to submit a written request for the disclosure of the names of collaborators (found in the documentation made available by the Authority).
For this purpose, Instruction no. 97 dated 12.02.2024 has been drafted, approved by Decision no. 97 dated 12.02.2024 of the Authority.
► The request must be made in writing, after the subject has been acquainted with the documentation provided, specifying the status of the requester (affected person, relative of the affected person, or of the deceased or missing person, etc.),
► Along with the request, the requester must submit the list of pseudonyms of the collaborators to be disclosed, which must be part of the formal file or the processing file served by AIDSSH,
► The subject of the request must be “Request for disclosure of collaborators” and the data in the request must be accurate and sufficient for the identification of the archival documents.
First, complete SECTION A where the requester's data is entered.
First name, last name, patronymic, date of birth, personal identification number, place of birth, exact residential address, phone number, email address (if any).
Section B contains the data completed according to the fields related to:
► In Section B point 15, it is completed if the requester has knowledge about the archival source of the information.
► In Section B point 16, data are provided that enable the localization of the requested information.
► In Section B point 17, the requester’s justified interest in the information sought is provided.
In Section C, the submitted documentation and the applicant’s signature are completed.
Section D the signature of the “Declaration of Responsibility.”
At AIDSSH, citizens may apply for requests to obtain certification and documentation regarding the period of internment–expulsion and the place where the prison sentence was served (the unit where the sentence was served), for the purpose of pension calculation, pension supplement, and compensation for political prisoners.
These requests are handled by the Information Directorate and the Archive Directorate.
Requests for compensation of political prisoners come from the Ministry of Justice, Social Insurance Institutes of various districts, as well as from citizens, and are intended for pension calculation purposes.
For requests where the archive enables the identification of archival materials, a photocopy is made for each, which is attached to the final response returned.
The Authority has addressed this issue with Decision no. 630, dated 20.11.2020, regarding the provision of information to the requester or issuing a duplicate of the document found in the prison service register and in documents held in our archive. Regarding the nature of work in these camps (units 303 and 311 where mining work was done), we have informed the Social Insurance Institute.
In the majority of investigative–judicial files, there is no data regarding the unit number where the prisoners served their sentence.
The identification of materials, when possible, is done from the processing files where the place where the prisoners served their sentence is specified.
The Authority, after reviewing the relevant material in accordance with Law no. 45/2015 “On the Right to Information on the Documents of the Former State Security of the People’s Socialist Republic of Albania”, as amended, taking into account the relevant legal restrictions, issues a decision. This decision, together with the relevant materials, is communicated to the requester and delivered with an official record.
2,185 individual requests for access to documentation,
2,189 institutional requests for verification of statuses,
91 requests for disclosure of collaborators,
876 requests for the purpose of compensation or for verification of internment–expulsion.
– Person – is any natural or legal person, domestic or foreign, as well as stateless persons.
– Affected person – is any individual about whom it is proven that the former State Security intentionally collected data, including gathering information secretly or through wiretapping.
– Beneficiary – is any person who is proven to:
a) has been supported by the former State Security, especially by being granted advantages in profession or economic benefits;
b) has been protected by the former State Security or, through its intervention, has been shielded from criminal prosecution;
c) has prepared or committed criminal acts with the knowledge or support of the former State Security.
– Collaborator – is any person proven to have secretly cooperated with the organs of the former State Security in political activities related to the political criminal offenses provided for in Law no. 7514, dated 30.9.1991, “On the innocence, amnesty, and rehabilitation of former convicts and political persecuted persons,” as amended, regardless of whether a sentence was imposed for these offenses by the competent organs of the communist regime, for whom files, cards, or registrations exist in the indexes of the former State Security’s card files.
The right to request information about the existence of documents of the former State Security concerning deceased and declared missing persons, as well as to review the documents and obtain their duplicates, is also granted to their relatives, according to the following order of priority:
a) spouses;
b) children;
c) grandchildren, when the persons referred to in letters “a” and “b” have died or been declared missing;
ç) parents, when the persons referred to in letters “a,” “b,” and “c” have died or been declared missing;
d) brothers and sisters, when the persons referred to in letters “a,” “b,” “c,” and “ç” have died or been declared missing;
dh) children of brothers and sisters, when the persons in the preceding categories have died or been declared missing.
Relatives are provided with information, upon request and for the following purposes:
a) for the rehabilitation of the deceased or missing persons;
b) for the protection of the personality rights of the deceased or missing persons, especially for clarifying accusations of collaboration with the former State Security;
c) to clarify the fate of the deceased or missing persons.
This does not apply in cases where the deceased or missing person has expressed, in writing before death or disappearance, their wish for the requested information not to be disclosed, or when this wish can be clearly proven by other objective or documented circumstances.
a) is provided due to limited capacity with the assistance of a third party, accompanied by a written declaration from the requesting subject, according to Article 20, point 3,
b) for social assistance beneficiaries with insufficient income and assets, and for political persecuted persons with status.
They are mainly carried out by the Authority itself according to Article 5, point 6, of this law, and upon request, according to Article 39 of this law.
– Administrative appeals before AIDSSH,
– Court for the adjudication of administrative matters.
