The Constitutional Court has clarified the decision against former Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku, for whom on February 6, due to the failure to reach the required quorum of votes (divided four by four), the Prime Minister's request was rejected.
The Constitutional Court has provided legal arguments regarding the conflict of powers between the government and the judiciary regarding the immunity of the minister, which divided the Constitutional Court into two positions.
Excerpt from the Constitutional Court's decision on Belinda Balluku:
The applicant alleged that between him and the Council of Ministers, on the one hand, and the First Instance Court of Appeal, on the other hand, a dispute of competence has arisen, pursuant to the letter “ç” of point 1 of Article 131 of the Constitution, since the suspension of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Energy violates the activity of the Council of Ministers in some of its areas of responsibility, as well as interferes with the competences of the Prime Minister, as a constitutional body, leading to the de facto dismissal of the minister.
According to the applicant, the First Instance Court of Appeals has interfered with the discretion that the Constitution and the Court's jurisprudence have granted to the Prime Minister to propose ministers and to the executive branch, since a member of the Council of Ministers enjoys the immunity of a deputy.
The applicant also claimed that the First Instance Court of Appeals does not have jurisdiction over matters relating to the mandate of a minister, deputy or other high constitutional functionaries, as they are not ordinary administrative bodies, but constitutional bodies, and therefore their mandate constitutes a matter of constitutional law. According to him, if the suspension from office of a constitutional functionary, such as a minister, were permitted, the Constitution would have to expressly provide for this possibility and the competent body to decide on the suspension.
As long as there is no such provision for the minister in the Constitution, his suspension cannot be carried out.
For this reason, there is a need to interpret Article 103, point 3, of the Constitution, which provides that members of the Council of Ministers enjoy the immunity of a deputy.