The Constitutional Court has suspended today, December 12, 2025, the decisions of the Special Court of First Instance for Corruption and Organized Crime, which prohibited the exercise of office by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Belinda Balluku.

The decision taken this Friday immediately reinstates Balluku, suspending the effects of the restraining order until the trial is concluded.

The Constitutional Court decided to accept the appeal filed in this case and set the date for the hearing as January 22, 2026, at 10:00. Thus, the Constitutional Court ruled in favor of Prime Minister Rama, who claimed that the judiciary had unjustly interfered with the executive branch. Rama emphasized that there is no example in the international arena where a prosecutor or even a first-instance judge has decided to suspend a member of the government from office.

According to the official announcement, the Meeting of Judges previously reviewed the issue requested by Prime Minister Edi Rama, which was related to the resolution of the dispute over competence created between the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, on the one hand, and the First Instance Court of Appeals, on the other hand, regarding the suspension of the exercise of the duties of a member of the Council of Ministers.

The announcement states that the Constitutional Court, by majority vote, decided to suspend the implementation of court decisions no. 118, dated 19.11.2025 and no. 120, dated 22.11.2025, which had imposed on Balluk the prohibitive measure "Suspension of the exercise of a public duty or service". Consequently, the decision of the Constitutional Court loses effect until the final review of the case.

The Court also decided to move the case for consideration in a public plenary session due to high public interest, summoning as interested parties SPAK, GJKKO, the Albanian Parliament and the President of the Republic.

The date of the public plenary session was also set: January 22, 2026, 10:00, as stipulated in Article 27 of the Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court in cases where suspension is accepted.

The full decision of the Constitutional Court

On 12.12.2025, 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.

The Meeting of Judges decided:

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.

Unanimously, pursuant to Article 27, point 3, of the Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court, according to which, if the request for suspension is accepted, the date of the plenary session is set on the earliest possible date, respecting the applicable procedural deadlines, the public plenary session is set on 22.01.2026, at 10:00.

Balluk's suspension and Rama's lawsuit

SPAK appealed to the Special Court, which imposed two measures on Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku: suspension from office and a ban on leaving Albania, as part of the investigation into the Llogara Tunnel tender procedures. The same court also imposed “house arrest” on the head of ARRSH, Gentian Gjyli, and the head of KESH, Erald Elezi, both suspected of being involved as members of the commission that evaluated the bids.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Rama has appealed to the Constitutional Court to lift the suspension decision, arguing that the GJKKO has exceeded its powers. According to the government, this decision violates the functioning of the Council of Ministers and the constitutional role of the prime minister to appoint or dismiss ministers. The government claims that Balluku cannot be removed from office through a security measure, since as a member of the executive cabinet she has equal status to an MP.

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