Punishment without a law, as under communism/ PS seeks 60-day suspension of Bardhi and Balliu! Debates in the Ethics Secretariat revealed

Democratic Party lawmakers on the Ethics Secretariat consider the Socialists’ requests for disciplinary measures against Gazment Bardhi and Klevis Balliu unfounded.

According to them, the alleged actions may be punished with a suspension of up to 10 days, not up to 60 days.

Democratic Party lawmakers Saimir Korreshi and Blendi Himçi argue that the Socialists’ request to impose harsher measures, including a suspension of up to 60 days from parliamentary proceedings, is not supported by the provisions of the Rules of Procedure of Parliament.

According to the two Democratic lawmakers, the actions described in the Socialist Party’s request, even if classified as disciplinary violations, should be addressed under point 1 of Article 65/1 of the Rules of Procedure, which provides for a suspension of up to 10 calendar days.

The Socialist Party is seeking the suspension of the two Democratic lawmakers from plenary sessions and parliamentary committees following incidents that occurred during the vote on the Territorial Reform, when, according to the Socialists, they threw water bottles and eggs in the direction of Prime Minister Edi Rama, members of the government cabinet and lawmakers from the majority.

Saimir Korreshi and Blendi Himçi’s position

The Socialist Party’s request for disciplinary measures against the two opposition lawmakers describes the following actions, which the applicants consider disciplinary violations:

Lawma​ker Gazment Bardhi:

1. When the voting procedure began, serious incidents were recorded, accompanied by insults, provocations and physical attacks by opposition lawmakers, seriously disrupting order and the normal conduct of the plenary session.

2. As soon as voting began, he addressed the Speaker of Parliament, the Prime Minister, members of the Council of Ministers and lawmakers from the Socialist Party with highly offensive and denigrating language.

3. He repeatedly threw water bottles in the direction of the Speaker of Parliament, the Prime Minister, members of the Council of Ministers and Socialist Party lawmakers.

Lawma​ker Klevis Balliu:

1. When the voting procedure began, serious incidents were recorded, accompanied by insults, provocations and physical attacks by opposition lawmakers, seriously disrupting order and the normal conduct of the plenary session.

2. He went in front of Parliament’s podium and threw eggs in the direction of the Prime Minister, the Speaker of Parliament and members of the Council of Ministers.

3. He used a noise-making device in the parliamentary chamber, obstructing the normal continuation of proceedings.

For both lawmakers, the applicants summarize the alleged violations as follows: “The use of noise-making devices, acts of violence, insults and the throwing of hard objects in the direction of the Speaker of Parliament, the Prime Minister and members of the Council of Ministers constitute actions that are contrary to the Rules of Procedure of Parliament and the Code of Conduct for Lawmakers.”

Individually, the applicants ultimately seek the punishment of:

Lawma​ker Bardhi, on the grounds that: “Through his repeated violent and deliberate actions, he obstructed the normal conduct of the plenary session, used highly offensive and denigrating language, and threw water bottles at the Speaker of Parliament, the Prime Minister, members of the Council of Ministers, Socialist Party lawmakers and employees of the Republican Guard.”

Lawma​ker Balliu, on the grounds that: “Through his repeated violent and deliberate actions, he threw eggs, used noise-making devices, obstructed the normal conduct of the plenary session and used unparliamentary language against the Speaker of Parliament, the Prime Minister, members of the Council of Ministers and Socialist Party lawmakers.”

Article 65/1 of the Rules of Procedure of Parliament classifies the actions or omissions that constitute disciplinary violations, as well as the sanction accompanying each of them. Punishments beyond these violations, or sanctions outside those provided for the specific action, are classified as “punishment without a law,” as during the communist era.

Specifically, point 1 of Article 65/1 of the Rules of Procedure of Parliament provides: “1. The disciplinary measure ‘Exclusion from participation in committees and/or plenary sessions for up to 10 calendar days’ is imposed on a lawmaker when, even after being called to order and warned by the chair of the session/meeting, they call for the use of violence, obstruct the proper conduct of a plenary session/committee meeting, cause chaos in a plenary session/committee, insult, threaten or assault other lawmakers, the chair of the session, members of the Council of Ministers, invited guests or other persons, or use insulting words against the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister or other state institutions.”