Constitutional Court has published its ruling on detained Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj, ordering the case to be sent back for reconsideration to the Supreme Court.

In the decision, approved with five votes in favor and three against, the Constitutional Court said the Supreme Court must provide a reasoned assessment on whether the “arrest in prison” measure is proportionate to Veliaj’s position as mayor of Tirana.

The Court stated that, in substantive terms, it examined claims concerning the violation of personal liberty in relation to the proportionality of the detention measure and its connection to the right to be elected. The Constitutional Court found the claim grounded only because the Supreme Court had failed to provide a reasoned response to the argument raised by Veliaj in his appeal.

The ruling also noted that the Constitutional Court considered insufficiently reasoned the Supreme Court’s rejection of Veliaj’s request to remain outside the glass security enclosure during court hearings in the case where he is a defendant before Albania’s Special Court.

“The proportionality of the measure, linked to the right to be elected, was found justified only in terms of the fact that the Supreme Court did not provide a reasoned response to this claim raised in the appeal by the applicant,” the Constitutional Court said in its decision.