The lawyers provided primary legal assistance to the residents of a village near the landfill in Porto Romano in Durres – which was built without an environmental permit – by submitting several requests for information to relevant public institutions. The responses received from the National Environmental Inspectorate showed that the local institution was fined and that an order was issued to stop using this territory for waste disposal. The lawyers submitted a request to the Municipality of Durres, but the latter did not issue any decisions. The request was followed by a joint protest of University of Durres students and Porto Romano residents.
The lawyers took the case to the Durres Administrative Court of First Instance, requesting from the Municipality to close the landfill and rehabilitate the area. The lawyers submitted to the Court the lawsuit as well as any documents collected for the case, including an environmental inspection that confirmed the air, land and water pollution in Porto Romano.
While the lawyers were waiting for the Durres Administrative Court of First Instance to set a date for the preliminary hearing, in September 2019, in response to a request for information, the lawyers were informed that the rehabilitation project for this landfill was approved and the procurement procedure was initiated. The project is called “Eco Park Durrës” and, in addition to the rehabilitation of the field, it provides for the construction of an entertainment, sports and nature park. On January 13, 2020, the National Council of Territory approved the construction permit for “Eco Park Durrës”.