FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Sonila Bejtja is leaving this year, paving the way for the President to announce the new vacancy...
The Constitutional Court appears to have put an end to the clash over the mandate of its members. For more than a year, there has been a dispute between the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court, while the Assembly and the Presidency have also been behind the scenes.
Initially, there was disagreement over the vacancy left by the resigned Elsa Toska and Holta Zaçajt, whose mandate ended.
The Assembly declared the vacancy for Elsa Toska's mandate, stating that it lasts until 2028, while there have been rumors that the mandate should actually be until 2025.
The scheme provided for in the law on the organization and functioning of the Constitutional Court, in the transitional provisions section (Article 86, point 4) determines the manner in which the renewal of judges would be carried out until 2022, to guarantee that in 2025, 2028 and 2031, the change could be carried out, with three members, one for each appointing body (President, Parliament, Supreme Court). A scheme that reflected the transitional provisions of the Constitution (Article 179, point 3), amended within the framework of the Justice reform, which provided for term limits. According to the procedures, the mandates of Sonila Bejtja and Holta Zaçaj, proposals of the President and the Supreme Court, were to end in 2025.
But in 2019, Parliament turned out to be the one that did not respect the scheme, determined by the Constitution and the Law of the Constitutional Court, when for the subsequent mandate of Vladimir Kristo, concluded in 2016, on November 11, 2019, it appointed Ms. Elsa Toska for a full mandate.
Then there was a clash between the Supreme Court and Holta Zaçaj, who initially preferred not to hand over the mandate, but then withdrew.
After finding a solution for Holta Zaçaj's mandate, President Bajram Begaj on January 30 addressed a request to the Constitutional Court seeking clarification on the partial renewal, whether it also applies to other constitutional judges who were appointed late, specifically Elsa Toska, who resigned in September 2024, and Sonila Bejtja.
Regarding the end of Judge Sonila Bejtja's mandate, the President sought clarification on how the impasse would be resolved and how her mandate, which ends in 2025, would be renewed.
Begaj requested that the Court fully and definitively clarify how this mechanism should function, so that it is in accordance with the Constitution and does not create distortions or unequal treatment for judges appointed late.
The Constitutional Court met today, and it seems to have come up with a decision that ends the impasse. The Constitutional Court concludes that Sonila Bejtja's mandate ends this year.
In its decision, the Constitutional Court clarified the interpretation of the mandate of the current members, emphasizing that, in this transitional phase, the principle of partial renewal of its composition will be applied. This principle arises from the need to restore the regular and balanced functioning of the institution after the constitutional crisis of recent years.
The Constitutional Court states that in the future the principle of the inviolability of the 9-year mandate will be applied, as provided for by the Constitution, but for current cases intertwined with the institutional reconstruction phase, the need to comply with the constitutional calendar for the renewal of members prevails.
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