How we know: BIRN's Aug. 14, 2026 report, which quotes the director of Albania's Public Procurement Agency; a May 2026 policy brief from the European Movement in Albania; and ATA's Oct. 8, 2026 report on the Constitutional Court ruling. ATA is state media, and we haven't seen the written decision.
GovernmentCase study
Albania's top court lets its AI "minister" stand. A year in, the AI procurement system she was meant to run hasn't been built.
The country's procurement agency said in August it had only just drafted the terms for a tender to build the system. The Constitutional Court has rejected the opposition's challenge to Diella's appointment.
Previously
In January 2025, Albania upgraded Diella, the AI assistant on its e-Albania services portal, to take voice requests, built on Microsoft's Azure OpenAI service (Part 1). In September 2025, Prime Minister Edi Rama named her a cabinet "minister" for public procurement, promising tenders "100% free of corruption." Experts said nobody knew how she'd work (Part 2).
October 2026 — Albania's Constitutional Court has rejected the opposition's bid to undo Diella's appointment. Here's what changed since Part 2 (September 2025), what it cost, and what went wrong.
Cost and outcome (as of October 2026)
What the procurement agency says
Albania's Public Procurement Agency is where Diella's skills were expected to be tested, BIRN reported. Asked whether it had started using AI, director Reida Kashta said: "There is a project to develop an AI-powered procurement system, but it is still in progress."
The agency had "just completed the drafting of the terms of reference," Kashta said. Terms of reference set out the technical requirements for the tender to pick the company that will build the system. In other words, the build hadn't been contracted.
Albania amended its procurement law in 2024 to allow AI in procurement, and Kashta said that gives a legal basis. A government AI strategy and a draft AI law, still under consultation, had not been adopted, BIRN reported.
Under the amended law, AI is meant to help draft requirements before a tender, support digital auctions, run a digital complaints system and monitor how contracts are carried out. BIRN noted that SPAK, Albania's Special Prosecution Office for organised crime and corruption, had uncovered tender-rigging schemes in which winners were picked before bidding opened. That's the problem Diella was announced to fix.
What critics say
Alba Brojka, an independent digital policy expert, told BIRN that AI shouldn't be a "magic wand solution" and that responsibility for final procurement decisions must stay with humans. The European Movement in Albania's summary of her May 2026 policy brief says Albania's "ambition has outpaced the legal, institutional, and technical foundations" needed for safe and accountable AI.
Democratic Party MP Klevis Balliu asked "who bears responsibility for decisions influenced by a system that has no legally defined status?" Aranita Brahaj, head of the Albanian Institute of Science, warned the reform could become "a laboratory for others to learn from."
The court ruling
On Oct. 8, the Constitutional Court rejected by majority vote the Democratic Party's request to annul the president's decrees appointing Diella, ATA reported. The party had argued that a virtual cabinet post is unconstitutional. ATA said Diella "remains appointed and fully operational." It didn't say what operations that covers.
What's changed
Diella's legal position is now settled, by ATA's account. Her procurement role isn't. A year after the announcement, the system she was meant to run was at the pre-tender stage as of August, the latest status on record.
There's also a separate dispute over her face. Actress Anila Bisha sued, saying her image was used for the minister role without permission. The Tirana Administrative Court rejected her request for an immediate halt on Feb. 23, 2026, Vox reported; she is also claiming €1 million in damages. BIRN reported hearings on a full ban were set to start Sept. 22. We found no ruling as of Oct. 25.
What went wrong
- The title came before the tool. Diella was named minister before the procurement system existed, and it hadn't been built as of August.
- No legal framework yet. No AI strategy or AI law has been adopted.
- Thin official reporting. The court outcome comes only from state media.
- What we don't know yet: when the build tender launches, who wins it, what it costs, and how the Bisha case ends.
Our follow-up question for the Public Procurement Agency
When will the tender to build the AI procurement system launch, and what is its budget?
Sources
- Blerina Gjoka, BIRN/Balkan Insight, “BIRN Reality Check: What Has Albania's AI 'Minister' Achieved So Far?,” Aug. 14, 2026. balkaninsight.com
- Alba Brojka, European Movement in Albania, “Policy Brief – AI in Public Procurement in Albania, a roadmap for balanced innovation in public policy, May 2026,” May 2026. em-al.org
- ATA, “Constitutional Court rejects DP's "Diella" request,” Oct. 8, 2026. en.ata.gov.al
- Vox News, “Requested 1 million euros in damages, the Administrative Court rejects the request for the lawsuit of actress Anila Bisha against Diella,” Feb. 23, 2026. voxnews.al
- Earlier in this series: Part 1. /case/albania-diella-voice-assistant · Part 2. /case/albania-diella-minister
© 2026 Real World Wire. Written October 25, 2026.