The three-judge panel of the Constitutional Court failed today to reach a decision on Prime Minister Edi Rama’s request regarding the suspension of Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku from office.
Following the Special Court’s decision to suspend the Deputy Prime Minister from her duties, Edi Rama immediately turned to the Constitutional Court. On November 21, 2025, just two days after the security measure imposed on her, Rama filed a request with the aim of resolving the dispute over competences between the Council of Ministers and the Constitutional Court.
In the request, the government argues that the Special Court exceeded its powers by suspending a member of the Council of Ministers, an action that the Constitution does not provide for. According to the executive’s interpretation, ministers enjoy the same immunity as members of parliament, and therefore cannot be judicially suspended from exercising their functions. The government emphasizes that the decision of the Special Court constitutes a direct interference in the powers of the executive and disrupts the balance of the separation of powers.
For this reason, the Prime Minister asked the Constitutional Court to repeal the suspension measure against Balluk and to clearly define the limits of the powers of the judiciary in relation to the government. This request is currently under evaluation, as the Court’s College failed to reach a unanimous decision not to pass it, thus referring the matter to the Meeting of Judges.
Because the unanimity required by law was not achieved, the Constitutional Court did not make any decision and the case was automatically referred for review to the Meeting of Judges.
“Following the previous announcement on the case with the applicant Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania, the Court announces the following: The Panel of the Court met today on 02.12.2025, as planned, for the preliminary examination of the request. The Panel decided to transfer the case to the Meeting of Judges to assess whether all the criteria for its admissibility for examination in a plenary session are met jointly in accordance with Article 31 of the Organic Law of the Constitutional Court and Article 24 of the Regulation on Judicial Procedures,” the Constitutional Court informed.
According to the law on the organization of the Constitutional Court, the College only expresses its opinion on not passing the case to a plenary session, and this only if the decision is taken unanimously. Since there was no unanimity in this case, the College could not pronounce a decision, transferring the case to the broader decision-making body, the Assembly of Judges.
Even this body can decide not to pass only with a majority of five votes; otherwise, the matter automatically passes to the plenary session.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Edi Rama has reacted sharply to the GJKKO decision to suspend Balluk, calling this case “unique” and unprecedented in the democratic world. In a post on the X platform, Rama challenged citizens to find another case where a prosecutor and a court of first instance suspend a member of the government. He said that he remains a firm supporter of the Justice Reform, but warned that such cases endanger constitutional principles and the balance of powers.
“Find a second case in the world where a prosecutor and a first-instance judge suspend a member of the government from office! […] When justice slips like this, it violates constitutional principles, disrupts the balance between independent powers and brutally interferes in the governing process.” – Rama wrote on the X platform.
Rama added that the fight against corruption cannot justify the use of the wrong means, warning that exceeding the limits of power causes more harm than the phenomenon itself that is intended to be combated.
On the other hand, the opposition has openly criticized the prime minister, while Sali Berisha has asked the Constitutional Court to hold a public hearing on this issue, accusing Rama of interfering in the judicial process to protect the deputy prime minister.
Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku has been named as a defendant in connection with the Llogara tunnel tender procedures and is under investigation for the tender for lot 4 of the Great Ring Road, while today she has also appealed to the GJKKO regarding the security measures against her, the suspension from duty and the ban on leaving the country.
Meanwhile, the government has appealed to the Constitutional Court claiming that the GJKKO has interfered with the powers of the executive and has imposed measures incompatible with the immunity that the minister enjoys as a member of parliament. After the College failed to make a decision, the Assembly of Judges will now decide whether the case will remain inadmissible or will open the way for consideration in a plenary session, making this one of the most important developments in the Balluku case.
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