The Constitutional Court postpones the session for the dismissal of President Ilir Meta

The hearing started around 10:00 am and continued uninterrupted until 3:00 pm. After two hours break the session resumed and continued until 19:00. The Court then decided to adjourn the hearing to Thursday at 10:00 p.m. At Thursday’s session, the other side, the President, is expected to be heard.

Only Meta is not expected to be present in the courtroom, but will be his legal representatives.

In June last year, the Albanian Parliament voted in favor of dismissing President Meta. The Socialist majority blamed him for public statements before and during the campaign for the 2021 parliamentary elections, held on April 25, which incited violence and violated the Constitution.

The vote was based on the findings of a report drafted by an investigative commission with the participation of the opposition, set up specifically to investigate the position of President Meta before and during the 2021 parliamentary election campaign.

According to the report, President Meta has violated more than 10 articles of the Constitution, which, according to the socialist majority, has led to a lack of guarantee of national unity by siding with the opposition before the April 25 elections and inciting instability and violence.

President Meta himself considered the commission of inquiry illegal, did not accept the accusations of the socialist majority, called the decision of the parliament for his dismissal unconstitutional and “orchestrated by the SP for political revenge.”

The Constitutional Court which is expected to decide on the fate of the President is not complete, after its non-functioning for about two years due to the resignation of the president and a good part of the members or expulsion from the justice system by vetting, the Constitutional Court currently has 7 out of 9 members provided by the Constitution.

The defense of the President of the Republic has emphasized today that the Constitutional Court can not adjudicate the case for the dismissal of Meta as president of the country, after he was appointed by the Government and the mandate of its president, Vitore Tusha ended five years ago and replacement is expected.

This was also the reason why Meta’s defense considered the issue as biased, underlining that out of the seven members that the Constitution currently has, six of them are Government appointments. Three of these appointments also came with the intervention of the Venice Commission.

The latter himself, according to Meta’s defense, has stated several times that the situation is unfavorable for judges to be elected for the Constitutional Court, as their impartiality is endangered.

Another reason mentioned is the deviation from the regulation. This, because according to the claim, the rapporteur of the case was not chosen by lot, but was already elected. In these circumstances, there is a conflict of interest over the selection, as it occurred in favor of one party.

But what happened?

After the jury withdrew for over an hour, the decision was clear.

The president’s claims against the court president, Vitore Tusha, that she has exceeded her mandate, were rejected, arguing that it is not a constitutional claim.

Meta’s claim for drawing lots for the appointment of the rapporteur judge of the case was also rejected. The same goes for the appointment of Constitutional Court judges, who were described as “biased” by the legal representative of the Presidency, Bledar Dervishi.

On the other hand, according to the representative of the Presidency, Katerina Treska, the whole issue is unconstitutional. The request for Meta’s dismissal was made by the previous legislature of the Assembly. As such, the new legislature must restart once again from the beginning the demand for the removal of the president.

On this claim, the trial panel withdrew again, to make a decision. According to the reasoning, the current Speaker of the Assembly, Lindita Nikolla, has authorized the transfer of the case to the next legislature. But a final decision on whether or not to accept the preliminary request from the Presidency, will not have now.

He will refer to the final decision of the Constitutional Court, when the verdict on the Meta case is given.

President Meta’s difficult relationship with the SP

Ilir Meta was elected the 7th President of the Republic at the end of April 2017 with 87 votes of the socialist majority, after the opposition had left parliament. But the relationship of Ilir Meta, president with the socialist majority has been difficult, characterized by his opposition to the SP program, non-decree of laws and blocking the appointments of ministers proposed by Prime Minister Rama, whom he accuses of concentrating all powers in his hands.

Meta decreed, within the constitutional deadline, Edi Rama as Prime Minister of Albania, after the third governing mandate that the SP received with the victory of the parliamentary elections of April 25, 2021.

What does the Constitution provide if the President is dismissed?

The mandate of the President of the Republic of Albania is 5 years and his role is considered mainly as honorary.

The judicial system in Albania does not allow any room for appeal against the decision of the Constitutional Court. The Constitution does not have an explicit provision on how to proceed in the event of the dismissal of the President and when the procedures for his replacement begin.

Its only prediction is that in case of impossibility, the seat of the President remains vacant and the election of the new President begins within 10 days from the day of impossibility.

Meanwhile, the procedure for the election of the President begins no later than 60 days before the end of the mandate.

Although the Constitution recognizes his right to be re-elected for another term, Meta himself has stated that he will not request such a thing.

He was dismissed by Parliament on 9 June 2021 with 104 votes in favor, 7 against and 3 abstentions.

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