Belinda Ballaku returns to office
The Constitutional Court of Albania, with five votes in favor and two against, has reinstated Belinda Balluku, following the decision to review the appeal made by Prime Minister Edi Rama, following the suspension imposed by the Constitutional Court of Albania for the government's number two, topchannel reports.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure Belinda Balluku was suspended from duty at the request of SPAK under suspicion of "violation of equality in tenders" in two major cases.
Decision:
The Meeting of Judges of the Constitutional Court took up for preliminary consideration case no. 30 (K) 2025 of the Fundamental Register, dated 21.11.2025, with the applicant the Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania, with the subject: "Resolution of the dispute of competence created between the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers on the one hand, and the Special Court of First Instance for Corruption and Organized Crime, on the other hand, regarding the suspension of the exercise of the duty of a member of the Council of Ministers. Abrogation of decision no. 118, dated 19.11.2025 of the Special Court of First Instance for Corruption and Organized Crime, for the part that ordered the imposition of the prohibitory measure of suspension of the exercise of the duty of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, as an act that violates the guarantee of immunity of the member of the Council of Ministers, the principle of separation of powers and the competences of the bodies, which the Constitution has designated as authorities, who propose, appoint and approve the ministers in office. Annulment of decision no. 120, dated 22.11.2025 of the First Instance Court of Appeals, for the part that has disposed of the continuation of the implementation of the prohibitory measure of suspension of the exercise of the office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, as an act that violates the guarantee of immunity of the member of the Council of Ministers, the principle of separation of powers and the competences of the bodies that the Constitution has designated as authorities, who propose, appoint and approve the ministers in office. Suspension of the effects of the decision until the conclusion of the trial of this request by the Constitutional Court. Interpretation of point 3, article 103, of the Constitution, in the sense that "The member of the Council of Ministers, enjoying the immunity of a deputy, benefits from all procedural guarantees, which the Constitution recognizes not only for this the latter, but also criminal procedural legislation.
By majority vote, the issue was referred for consideration in a public plenary session due to the high public interest in this issue and the summons, as interested parties, of the Special Prosecutor's Office against Corruption and Organized Crime, the Special Court of First Instance for Corruption and Organized Crime, the Assembly of Albania and the President of the Republic.
By majority vote, the suspension of the implementation of judicial decisions no. 118, dated 19.11.2025 and no. 120, dated 22.11.2025 of the Special Court of First Instance for Corruption and Organized Crime, for the part that ordered the imposition and extension of the prohibitory measure "Suspension of the exercise of a public duty or service" against citizen Belinda Balluku, according to Article 45 of the organic law of the Court. The suspension decision will be sent for publication in the Official Gazette.
Unanimously, the rejection of the requests of the party "Popular Union of Albanian Pensioners" and the non-profit organization "Movement for the Protection of Universal Rights" to be included as intervening parties. The Meeting of Judges concluded that these two entities do not justify the constitutional interest, since the constitutional dispute under consideration concerns a conflict of competences and only the entities that are in conflict participate in it, in the sense that they are part of the bodies exercising the constitutional competence for which the conflict has arisen.
