The  European  integration  process  of  Albania  is  bound  to  fulfillment  of  the  accession  criteria,  a  political  criteria  related  to  stability  of  institutions  guaranteeing  democracy,  rule  of  law  and  protection of human rights. Protection of human rights is a core value for the EU as well as a pre-condition for candidate countries. The  European  Commission,  through  the  annual  progress  reports,  monitors  protection  of  human  rights  and  compliance  of  the  domestic  legislation  with  international  human  rights  instruments;  particularly the European Convention of Human Rights. Also, the Commission evaluates cooperation with the European Court of Human Rights and executions of the Court’s decisions. The paper aims to analyze implementation of the acquis and European standards on the abolishment of the death penalty  and  on  prevention  of  torture  and  ill-treatment.  The  paper  considers  the  progress  reports  and some of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights on prevention of torture and ill-treatment.According  to  the  progress  reports,  the  main  conclusion  is  that  Albania  has  an  adequate  legal  framework  that  guarantees  human  rights,  but  the  main  concern  is  still  the  implementation  of  legislation.