Prime Minister Edi Rama has reacted for the first time to the Constitutional Court’s decision to lift the suspension of Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure Minister Belinda Balluku.

Speaking on his podcast 'Flasim', he said the court’s decision to review his appeal on the merits had removed what he described as a “unique and dangerous legal precedent”, created by lower courts through an improper interpretation of the law.

He accused a prosecutor and a judge of overstepping their constitutional powers, arguing that their actions temporarily took on the roles of the prime minister, president and parliament, turning a legal process into what he called a “partisan trial”.

Rama also raised broader concerns about the exercise of judicial independence, pointing to a separate case in which judges have initiated legal action to increase their own salaries. He said these developments require serious institutional reflection in order to safeguard judicial independence without harming democratic balance or state governance.

The Constitutional Court is expected to hear the case in full at the end of January.