REPUBLISHED

E-scooters before the Constitutional Court: Campaigners seek to annul ministry directive

Erblin Vukaj · Originally published: 11 March 2026

The application and the campaigners’ arguments

Civil society campaigners applied to the Constitutional Court today to challenge the indefinite ban on electric scooters, a decision taken by the Interior Ministry in October 2025 that has since sparked public debate over freedom of movement and the use of roads.

Two civil society organizations, Qëndresa Qytetare (Civic Resistance) and Drejtësi Sociale (Social Justice), today filed an application to annul Directive No. 169 of 13 October 2025, signed by former Interior Minister Albana Koçiu. The campaigners argued that the directive banning electric scooters infringes several constitutional rights, including freedom of movement, freedom of economic activity and the right to property.

According to them, the administrative measure that followed the directive, including police seizures of scooters, has had direct consequences for citizens and businesses operating in the sector.

Lawyer Gentian Sejrani of Drejtësi Sociale, who represents the campaigners in the proceedings, said the decision to approach the Constitutional Court followed months of uncertainty and a lack of response from institutions.

He argued that more than 1,000 electric scooters currently remained impounded by police, even though the authorities had initially stated that their seizure would be temporary and last no longer than 30 days.

“We are facing an infringement of the right to property and economic freedom,” Sejrani said after filing the application. “Businesses operating with scooters have been directly affected by this directive, and some are heading towards bankruptcy.”

According to him, the directive itself is unclear about how long it will apply and does not clearly set a time limit for the ban on these vehicles.

For this reason, the campaigners have also asked the Constitutional Court to suspend the directive immediately until it delivers a final ruling on the case.

“This would allow citizens to recover their vehicles and prevent further harm,” Sejrani added.

Rigels Xhemollari of Qëndresa Qytetare said campaigners and scooter users had sought a solution through institutional dialogue for months, but their efforts had received no response.

“The police operation has been disproportionate and illogical,” Xhemollari said. “Scooters help reduce traffic, while banning them makes managing traffic in the city even more difficult.”

The ban and the debate over urban transport

The debate over electric scooters erupted in October 2025, after police launched a large-scale operation in Tirana and several other cities to seize them, arguing that their use was unregulated and posed a road-safety risk.

The decision came at a time when electric scooters were increasingly being used in the capital as an alternative means of transport over short distances, particularly among young people.

According to the campaigners, the scooter ban fails to take account of the structural problems of urban transport in Albanian cities.

They argue that the public transport system remains run-down, while a lack of parking and rising fuel costs are making private cars increasingly difficult to use.

In this context, electric scooters are seen as a low-cost transport alternative with a smaller impact on traffic and pollution.

Xhemollari said there were around 10,000 users of these vehicles in Tirana alone, adding that the government’s decision did not take citizens’ actual needs into account.

He compared the situation in Albania with practices in European capitals.

“Paris, Rome and Berlin have not banned scooters,” he said. “They have regulated them through legislation. That is precisely what we are asking for: regulation through parliament, not an administrative ban.”

The route to the Constitutional Court

The scooter case could also set a legal precedent, as this is the first time a ministerial directive has been taken directly to the Constitutional Court.

Administrative acts of this kind are usually challenged first in the Administrative Court and only then referred to the Constitutional Court if a constitutional issue arises.

In this case, according to Sejrani, the campaigners decided to go directly to the Constitutional Court because their main argument concerns violations of fundamental rights.

“Our findings concern constitutional rights,” he told Citizens.al. “As long as we are dealing with infringements of freedom of movement, the right to property and economic freedom, the court that should examine the case is the Constitutional Court.”

He acknowledged that this approach had not been taken before, but added that it could establish a precedent for how administrative acts directly affecting fundamental rights could be challenged in future.

“This is the first time it has happened, but let it be a precedent,” Sejrani said.

As the case moves to the Constitutional Court, the scooter debate has exposed a broader problem in the way urban mobility is regulated in Albania.

On one side, the authorities argue that the absence of clear rules for scooter use poses a road-safety risk. On the other, campaigners and users say a total ban is no solution and that the country needs a legal framework clearly setting out how these vehicles may be used.

The ruling that the Constitutional Court will deliver in the coming months is expected to be decisive not only for the fate of electric scooters, but also for how Albanian institutions may intervene to regulate new forms of urban mobility.