1The High Judicial Council may establish a branch within the territory of a court of general jurisdiction of first instance or may merge branches under the jurisdiction of the court of general jurisdiction of first instance or of a branch of that court. The establishment of a branch or merging of branches shall be done following a consultation with the Minister of Justice, the Prosecutor General, the High Prosecutorial Council and the Minister of Finance.
2The establishment of court branches shall be done according to the procedure, principles, objectives and criteria as set out in Article 13 paragraph 4, Article 14 and Article 15 of this Law.
3Permanent court branches shall not have less than three judges. Each of these judges shall not have a lower caseload per year than the average caseload per judge per year at that level in Albania in the last three years.
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