Constitutional Imperative vs. Parliamentary Defiance in Albania: The Unresolved Case of an Alleged Mandate Incompatibility
By Arnisa Tepelija. When can a constitutional court compel a democratically elected parliament to act against its will, or compel it to vote in a certain way? Or, to put it differently, can a parliament ignore the decisions of the constitutional court? These questions lie at the heart ofa protracted standoff between the National Assembly in Albania and its Constitutional Court. The standoff reveals competing visions of democracy: one prioritising majority rule and legislative autonomy, the other emphasising constitutional obligation and political party minority protection.
