THE ALBANIAN PUBLIC'S TRUST IN SECURITY: STUMBLING BLOCKS TO EU NEGOTIATIONS performed on these institutions by the Ombudsperson is mostly related to personal cases rather than systemic issues. 1.4.2.Supreme State Audit Institution The Supreme State Audit Institution has the expressed competence of control and oversight on all matters of economics and finance, including budgeting and expenses. While there is no specific mention of security institutions in the competence of the SSAI, there is no institution that is barred from being audited and controlled by it. Ever since its inception, the SSAI has been considered to be politicized, with great political control exerted over it by the executive. However, on grounds of professionalism, we may claim that the SSAI has greatly improved in the last few years. The main problem of its oversight on security institutions, specifically the armed forces, is the existence of the so-called"black budget", which cannot be the subject of scrutiny as the objects bought during these procedures are part of state secret, greatly complicating the work of the SSAI. 1.5. Control and Oversight from the Judiciary System The military institutions and the officials that work for them are subject to the same provisions and judiciary control as all the other institutions on matters of constitutionality or law. However, we must stress once again that the highest courts in the Albanian judicial system are not functioning in their required capacity because their judges have been disqualified from the vetting process of the justice reform. Nevertheless, it is important to mention that even before such reform had taken place, judicial control and oversight on the Armed Forces was minimal, as political pressure and corruption have undermined the effectiveness of the justice system, including cases involving the military. 1.6. Control and Oversight from the Institution Created by the Justice Reform According to the law For the Organization and Functioning of Institutions that Combat Corruption and Organized Crime, the new institutions(NBI, SPO, etc.) have full rights to prosecute and investigate any case about passive and active corruption by public officials. This includes defense, military organizations, and officials within its jurisdiction, providing a great degree of oversight on these institutions. That said, there have been no cases involving the prosecution of officials within the armed forces(either civilian or military) on corruption charges, or any other case that falls within the provisions of article 75/a of the Code of Criminal Procedures. This could be because these institutions are either newly created(SPO), or not yet operational(NBI, The Special Anti-Corruption Court). 22