Opinion
Laws for the street are not written in the street
The package against urban violence responds to a real problem, but it also carries real risks. That is exactly why it should move from the cabinet table to public debate, not the other way around.
By ANN Newsroom · Newsroom
October 25, 2026, 18:30 · Updated 18:40 · 2 min read
On Sunday morning, a day after the Oct. 24 protest, Prime Minister Edi Rama presented six legal instruments against what he called urban violence: compensation for businesses, fines of up to 500,000 lek for anyone who stays in a violent crowd after a police warning, restrictions on gatherings of up to 72 hours near schools, hospitals and institutions, an electronic register of violent offenders and changes to the Criminal Code. A few hours later, the 13th protest again ended with Molotov cocktails on Skanderbeg Square.
The need to respond to the violence is real. Police reported five officers injured and 23 people arrested from Saturday alone, while on Sunday the windows of Parliament were smashed and businesses were hit again. But the way the package was born raises questions that do not depend on one's view of the protest. It was announced at a public presentation, with no published texts; the register is to be created by government decision, the compensation by a normative act, and the total size of the fund was not disclosed.
The government says the measures were drafted with European experts and Italian and French partners and that they respect Article 47 of the Constitution and Article 11 of the European Convention. If so, there is no reason for the texts not to be made public before they are voted on. A fine for those who “knowingly” stay in a crowd, or a ban on teachers “encouraging” students, depends entirely on how those words are defined in law.
The opposition, for its part, did not help this debate. Gazment Bardhi called the package unconstitutional “in every letter” without saying which provision violates which article, while Sali Berisha urged citizens not to recognize the measures. A law that does not yet exist is not defeated by refusing to recognize it; it is defeated, or improved, with arguments in Parliament and, if need be, at the Constitutional Court.
Our proposal: the government should separate the compensation for businesses, which is urgent and does not touch freedoms, from the rest of the package. For the fines, the restrictions on gatherings, the register and the criminal amendments, the texts should be published this week, followed by at least two weeks of public consultation, opinions from the Ombudsman and the Venice Commission, and hearings in Parliament to which students are also invited. The law on protests should come out stronger than the violence, not more hurried than it.
