Altin Binaj, the fifth member of the Constitutional Court voted last week in Parliament was sworn in by President Ilir Meta on Tuesday.
The Constitutional Court of Albania should have nine members in total but has only five. It needs a quorum of six members to make decisions.
Binaj was the only candidate sent to and voted in Parliament, seemingly in contradiction to the constitutional and legal requirement to elect a constitution court member out of a list of three candidates.
The list of candidates for the sixth member to be elected by the President could also end up including only two of the required three candidates.
The list is prepared and sent to electing institutions by the Justice Appointments Council (KED).
US Ambassador Yuri Kim congratulated Binaj, and restated that “urgent action” by institutions involved can make the Constitutional Court functional before the end of year. EU Ambassador Luigi Soreca also applauded the process and urged for the swift election of the sixth member.
