Rama-Meta impact on decrees, Constitution clears decision

The Constitution has established partial admission of Prime Minister Rama's request to interpret Article 98 of the Constitution, Article 1 for the right to appoint and sack ministers.

The Constitutional Court ruling is said to be the appointment or dismissal of a ministry is the competence of the three main bodies -- the prime minister, the president and the Assembly -- with agreement on each other.

The prime minister's “has a primary role in forming the government at the beginning of the ruling mandate and has political responsibility towards the Assembly, which is closely linked to the Council of Ministers' activities. In the procedure of appointment and dismissal of the minister, the prime minister, the president and the Parliament are guided by the principle of constitutional performance and that of dividing and balancing powers. The compensation for the appointment and dismissal of the minister is divided among the above three bodies. The minister's appointment process should ensure that the constitutional criteria and qualities are met for this post”.

Among other things, the decision says the president has the right to return the appointment of a minister, but on the condition of respect for the performance in an inter-institutional relationship.

The indictment at the Constitutional Court was filed by Prime Minister Edi Rama after several clashes with President Meta not to decree Gent Cakaj as foreign minister, forcing him to take office himself.