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The Constitutional Court today issued an unconstitutional decision for the Deputy Prime Minister

2025-11-20 21:04:00, Editorial CNA

The Constitutional Court today issued an unconstitutional decision for the

The Special Court suspended Belinda Balluku from her position as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Energy on Thursday.

The Special Court also banned Balluku from leaving the country. The investigations were related to two public procurements, one for the Llogara Tunnel and the other for the Grand Ring Road in the capital.

But what happens in the case in question?

In the case where we have a Deputy Prime Minister who is also a Member of Parliament, the issue of imposing a personal security measure by the criminal court, specifically suspension from exercising public office, raises several problems of a legal and constitutional nature, which require careful treatment.

First, it should be noted that the precautionary measure "suspension from duty", as provided for in Article 242 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, is a legal remedy that allows the court to temporarily prohibit a defendant from exercising a public or professional function, in order to prevent obstacles in the criminal process, prevent influence on evidence or witnesses, or avoid the risk of repetition of the criminal offense.

However, the legal provision itself contains a clear and absolute exception: it does not apply to persons elected under the electoral law. This exception was established by the legislator to protect the integrity of the mandate of representatives elected by popular vote, thus respecting popular sovereignty, as one of the pillars of the democratic state.

In this sense, the Deputy Prime Minister, who is also an elected member of parliament, benefits from this exception not because of his function in the executive, but because of his elected mandate as a member of the Assembly.

He is not an ordinary administratively appointed public official, but a representative of the sovereign, and any interference with his right to exercise public functions, even of an executive nature, would constitute an interference with the freedom of representation and the balance of powers.

He cannot be suspended from office, as long as he is subject to the exception provided for in Article 242 of the CPC.

This exception is objective and general, does not allow for a division according to the functions exercised by the elected person, and does not provide room for interpretation to suspend only the executive function while “leaving intact” the legislative function.

This is because, as long as the executive function stems from his status as a deputy and part of the parliamentary majority that has formed the government, any interference in the exercise of his duty as a member of the government is an interference in the exercise of the representative mandate.

In this light, imposing a measure of suspension from office against a deputy who also holds the position of Deputy Prime Minister would be not only illegal in the formal sense of Article 242, but also unconstitutional in terms of proportionality and separation of powers.

The principle of proportionality, sanctioned as one of the pillars of fundamental rights and applied in all European legal systems, requires that any interference with the rights of an individual be necessary, appropriate and proportionate in the narrow sense – that is, that there is no less intrusive means to achieve the same goal.

In the specific case, if the court aims to prevent the influence of a Deputy Prime Minister in a criminal proceeding, it may use other, milder measures (such as a ban on contacts with certain persons, judicial supervision, or the obligation to appear), without essentially interfering with the right to exercise political office.

Meanwhile, from a constitutional perspective, the measure of suspension from office of an elected member of the Assembly, including the roles that he may hold within the government, is the exclusive competence of the parliament and not of the court. The Constitution provides that the measure that limits the exercise of the functions of a deputy can only be taken with the authorization of the Assembly, and this protection cannot be circumvented through criminal proceedings.

Finally, a Deputy Prime Minister who is also a deputy cannot be subject to the measure of suspension from office, neither legally nor constitutionally.

Such a measure would constitute a violation of his mandate as an elected official, an interference in the powers of the Assembly and a violation of the principle of proportionality, turning a criminal justice tool into an instrument that directly affects the balance of powers and the democratic functioning of institutions.

If an elected Deputy Prime Minister is criminally charged, the solution is not the preventive measure of suspension from office by the court, but the implementation of political procedures for parliamentary control and political assessment of his responsibility. This is in line with the fundamental principles of a state based on the rule of law./ CNA