Yesterday the Special Appeals Chamber (KPA) dismissed the President of the Constitutional Court Bashkim Dedja arguing that his assets were not justified by his legal income. Judge Dedja’s dismissal causes a series of issues with the ongoing justice reform.
The Justice Nominations Council (KED) cannot form
As previously explained, Bashkim Dedja and Vitore Tusha were the only two remaining members of the Constitutional Court, hence they were automatically chosen for the two seats at the KED that the Constitutional Court is required to fill.
Dedja’s dismissal means that one of the two seats remains empty, given that there is no other Constitutional Court member to take his seat.
Even if a new Constitutional Court member is assigned in order to take the KED seat, according to Law 155/2016 the KED candidate must have exercised his duty as a Constitutional Court judge for at least one year. Therefore, the KED seat of Judge Bashkim Dedja will remain empty for a minimum of one year.
No quorum for meetings and decision-making at the KED
According to the Constitution, the KED must have nine members from different levels of the justice system.
The lot for KED members for 2019 was drawn on 7 December. One seat remained vacant as a result of the lack of candidates fulfilling the criteria. With Judge Dedja’s dismissal, another KED seat becomes empty, bringing the total number of KED members currently on duty down to seven.
Four of these magistrates were confirmed in duty after the vetting process, while the remaining three (Fatri Islamaj, Margarita Buhali, and Eriol Roshi) have not passed the vetting, and cannot be confirmed by the Independent Qualification Commission (KPK) or the Special Appeals Chamber (KPA).
The KED cannot meet with only four members fulfilling the criteria. The law requires a minimum quorum of five members for any KED decision.
The KED has a tradition of forming on paper only – KED 2017, KED 2018 – without operating in practice. The KED 2019 seems to be on the same track.
KED’s main duty is to rank candidates to the Constitutional Court and High Judicial Inspectorate (ILD). When the competent institutions – Parliament, President and High Court for the Constitutional Court, and the Parliament for the ILD – cannot choose candidates, it’s the KED’s ranking that determines the Constitutional Court and ILD members.
