Ulsi Manja is presenting the Socialist Party's report on SPAK's request for the arrest of Belinda Balluku. At the SP group meeting, he stated that immunity cannot be an individual privilege, but a procedural guarantee.
According to him, the role of the Assembly in reviewing the request for lifting immunity is not formal but essential.
"The time when the reports were made in 2024, for violations of equality in tenders or auctions, does not constitute a criminal offense of corruption. Then we have a big noise that has made this process difficult. We have not stopped, as we fully respect the position of the defense and believe in justice. At this point we stand by and respect the public position, but also that of the defense of our colleague, Balluku.
Regarding SPAK's request for a travel ban and detention in prison, we stand by our position. It is in the interest of the public and you, honorable members of parliament, to emphasize an important fact: in our assessment, we have based ourselves on the evidence and reasoning of SPAK and have remained faithful to Article 288 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
We have conducted a constitutional and parliamentary review of whether SPAK's request is strictly procedural. We have had discussions in the Council. We were unable to come up with a joint report; the opposition has a different position. The opposition's report defends the thesis that the Assembly should not assess the security measure.
In our assessment, as members of the Mandates Council, this reductive approach does not comply with the spirit of the Constitution. Authorization is an act of will that carries political and legal responsibility. If the granting of this authorization were mandatory every time it was requested by SPAK, then the constitutional provision would be unnecessary. This has also been emphasized by the Constitutional Court in its jurisprudence, as well as the opinions of the Venice Commission.
Procedural immunity cannot be a personal privilege, but an institutional guarantee for the protection and free functioning of the Assembly. The Assembly has the obligation to verify whether the interference with freedom is real and necessary. This role of the Assembly is clearly evident if we refer to the case of the arrest in flagrante delicto of a deputy. When he is caught committing a crime, or immediately after committing it, the head of SPAK notifies the Assembly. When it is determined that there is no room for proceeding, the measure is lifted. Therefore, the role of the Assembly in lifting immunity is not formal,” he said.
