FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
The plaintiff claims that the court avoided reviewing the case due to its political nature and is requesting a retrial with a different panel.
Mereme Sela has appealed to the Court of Appeal of General Jurisdiction in Tirana, challenging the decision of the Court of First Instance, which reversed her lawsuit regarding her candidacy in the Democratic Party elections. In the appeal filed, she requests the annulment of decision no. 2397, dated May 8, 2026, and the return of the case for retrial with another panel.
Sela argues that the decision to “return the acts” was taken illegally and constitutes, according to her, “an expression of the judge’s fear of judging a case that falls within the political domain.” She claims that the court violated the principle of impartiality and did not give her the opportunity to correct the procedural shortcomings identified in the lawsuit.
In the appeal document, Sela explains that the court considered the lawsuit incomplete due to the non-payment of the court fee, the lack of a copy of the identification document, and the lack of the full address of the Democratic Party headquarters. She argues that these deficiencies were remediable and that the court should have given her a deadline to complete them, instead of immediately returning the lawsuit.
According to Sela, the court fee was not paid due to the urgency of the procedure, as elections within the Democratic Party are expected to take place within the month. She states that she would have made the payment immediately if the court had officially notified her of this deficiency or had scheduled a quick hearing for the preliminary examination of the case.
Regarding the lack of an identification document, Sela claims that the court's request is in violation of the Code of Civil Procedure, arguing that the party's identification is made at the moment of appearance in court and that her personal number was included in the lawsuit. She also considers the argument about the lack of the exact address of the Democratic Party headquarters unjustified, emphasizing that the official address of the party appears in the documents attached to the lawsuit.
Another claim by Sela is related to what she calls “prejudice of the case” by the court. The appeal states that the court concluded that the facts and circumstances sought to be proven were not presented in the lawsuit, without examining its merits and without hearing the parties.
Sela explains that the object of the lawsuit was her return to the race for the elections within the Democratic Party and the opposition to Sali Berisha's candidacy for the position of party leader. She refers to Article 46, point 8 of the Democratic Party Statute, according to which the party leader is not allowed to run again if the party does not result in a winning governing force after the parliamentary elections. According to her, Berisha's candidacy is contrary to the statute and therefore "null".
In the appeal, Sela states that the lawsuit was formulated in a “laconic” manner, but with clear identification of the statutory violation and the main request for her reinstatement in the competition. She claims that the court avoided examining the case by choosing the procedural path of returning the acts.
The plaintiff also argues that the court did not attempt to use the conciliation mechanisms provided for in the Code of Civil Procedure and that the failure to examine the case on its merits violated her constitutional right to a fair trial. She considers this situation as a case where, in her opinion, the judicial system contributes to the “consolidation of autocracy in political parties.”
Mereme Sela requests the Court of Appeal to find a violation of the principle of impartiality, overturn the decision of the Tirana Court and return the case for retrial with another panel.
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