In what looks as an act of revenge for charges filed against 23 Democrat MPs who ransacked Parliament and burned chairs two days ago, the Democratic Party (DP) has filed a criminal complaint against 73 members of the Socialist Party in Albania, alleging they obstructed the enforcement of two Constitutional Court rulings by not voting to support them.

Why is this important: The decision of DP is unprecedented and bizarre. It marks the first time in 34 years of post-communist democracy in Albania – and probably in the world – that a political party files a criminal complaint against its opponents MPs for not having voted in a certain way.

Background:  On September 12, Socialist MPs abstained from a vote related to the Constitutional Court’s decision to submit to the Court a motion regarding the mandate of a Socialist MP. The PD argues that this abstention constituted a refusal to comply with binding court decisions, specifically those pertaining to the execution of court rulings under Articles 320 and 320/a of the Penal Code. The Socialists on the other hand, argue that MPs are independent in their voting decisions and no Court can force them to vote in a given way. To resolve the issue the Socialist Party submitted a request for an advisory opinion to the Venice Commission in order to define the legal responsibilities and limits of the Parliament in such scenarios.

The Legal Framework: The complaint from the PD focuses on two alleged offenses:

• Obstruction of Court Rulings: Preventing the enforcement of legally mandated decisions.
• Failure to execute without justifiable cause: Not executing a ruling while lacking a legal basis for such inaction.

The PD contends that the actions of the Socialist MPs undermine democratic principles and erode public trust in the justice system.

Political context: The Democrats have currently embarked on a campaign of protests and disruption of the political process, allegedly in reaction to the sentencing for false reporting of one of their colleagues. Their leader, Sali Berisha, is currently in house arrest, awaiting trial for corruption, and designated persona-non-grata by the US and UK, respectively for his involvement in corruption and links to organized crime. The decision to embark in such actions, has been perceived by many as an attempt to foster tensions in the run-up to Berisha’s trial; a strategy often used by the Democrats in similar situations in the past.