Prime Minister Rama: The suspension of the minister is a brutal blow to the executive. A unique case in Europe. We will take it to the Constitutional Court
The Albanian government will appeal to the Constitutional Court the decision of the Court against Organized Crime and Corruption (COC) to suspend Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Energy Belinda Balluku. In a joint press conference with Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos, the Prime Minister described it as a unique case in the history of Europe and as a brutal violation of the independence of the executive branch.
"Regarding the specific case, I want to say three things.
First, the independence of the judiciary is neither a slogan, nor a political maneuver, nor a temporary experiment. It is a historical break from the past. Realized only in recent years, this independence has brought an absolute innovation to the institutional life of Albania and indisputably positive developments, starting from an undeniable fact: the burial of the 100-odd year-old culture of impunity. But it has also revealed the inherent weaknesses of a completely new, infantile power, as well as the old anti-democratic reflex.
Secondly, I want to emphasize that, despite and beyond the high costs that these old anti-democratic reflexes of the new special forces have for the country, for us — and for me personally — the protection and preservation of the independence of the justice system are a prerequisite for any of our positions. Because, as a wise saying that I like very much says: “Never throw the baby out with the bathwater.”
And here we come to the third point.
The suspension of a minister — in this case also of the deputy prime minister, i.e. the head of the government in the absence of the prime minister — is another manifestation of these weaknesses of the brand new power and the anti-democratic reflex that I mentioned above. This is a unique case in the history of Europe and also in the history of the special justice bodies, created in the processes of European integration of the countries of the former communist East. It has never happened that a prosecutor and a judge have come together face to face and suspend a member of the government face to face.
This is a direct violation of the independence and functioning of another independent power, such as the executive, by taking over the powers of the prime minister, the president and the parliament, from which the mandate of the government and each minister originates. Our choice in relation to this fact is the strategic one, as always: to preserve and support the independence of the judiciary as a prerequisite, even in this extreme case.
"To put it bluntly: we cannot respond to an arbitrariness of this magnitude with any other arbitrariness, and we will not engage — far from it — in a political or rhetorical battle with justice. We will continue with our strategic patience. We will preserve and support the independence of the judiciary, we will unconditionally respect the suspension decision, and in the meantime we will seek protection of the violated independence of the functioning of the government only from justice, from the Constitutional Court. This is us. This is me. And this will be the case until the end, as long as I have the privilege of leading Albania to become a member of the European Union. Protecting the new and inalienable independence of the justice system is our absolute priority, even in the face of flagrant situations like this, for which justice must find the constitutional response," Rama declared.
The Prime Minister's full statement
Edi Rama : Regarding the specific case, I want to say three things.
First, the independence of the judiciary is neither a slogan, nor a political maneuver, nor a temporary experiment. It is a historical break from the past. Realized only in recent years, this independence has brought an absolute innovation to the institutional life of Albania and indisputably positive developments, starting from an undeniable fact: the burial of the 100-odd year-old culture of impunity. But it has also revealed the inherent weaknesses of a completely new, infantile power, as well as the old anti-democratic reflex.
Secondly, I want to emphasize that, despite and beyond the high costs that these old anti-democratic reflexes of the new special forces have for the country, for us — and for me personally — the protection and preservation of the independence of the justice system are a prerequisite for any of our positions. Because, as a wise saying that I like very much says: “Never throw the baby out with the bathwater.”
And here we come to the third point.
The suspension from office of a minister — in this case also of the deputy prime minister, that is, the head of the government in the absence of the prime minister — is another manifestation of these weaknesses of the brand new power and the anti-democratic reflex that I mentioned above. This is a unique case in the history of Europe and also in the history of special justice bodies, created in the processes of European integration of the countries of the former communist East. It has never happened that a prosecutor and a judge come together face to face and suspend a member of the government face to face.
This is a direct violation of the independence and functioning of another independent power, such as the executive, by taking over the powers of the prime minister, the president and the parliament, from which the mandate of the government and each minister originates. Our choice in relation to this fact is the strategic one, as always: to preserve and support the independence of the judiciary as a prerequisite, even in this extreme case.
To put it bluntly: we cannot respond to an arbitrariness of this magnitude with any other arbitrariness, and we will not engage — far from it — in a political or rhetorical battle with justice. We will continue with our strategic patience. We will preserve and support the independence of the judiciary, we will unconditionally respect the suspension decision, and in the meantime we will seek protection of the violated independence of the functioning of the government only from justice, from the Constitutional Court. This is us. This is me. And this will be the case until the end, as long as I have the privilege of leading Albania to become a member of the European Union. Protecting the new and inalienable independence of the justice system is our absolute priority, even in the face of flagrant situations like this, for which justice must find the constitutional response.
The suspension is a court decision that we will take to the Constitutional Court as a brutal act of interference in the independence of the executive branch. And the Constitutional Court will have to tell us what its position is, based on the Constitution of the Republic of Albania. We are not in the conditions where, by forcefully interfering in the independence of the executive, any government move can be dictated.
So, for the period we are talking about, the Albanian government does not have a deputy prime minister and does not have a functioning minister of Infrastructure and Energy. That's it.
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