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The Constitutional Court will decide today whether or not to increase the salaries of judges...
The Constitutional Court is expected to issue a decision on judges' salaries today. According to information, the judges met this afternoon and are expected to decide shortly whether or not to accept the request of the Union of Judges. At the meeting on February 12, they were unable to reach a consensus and according to sources, a final decision is expected today.
The complaint relates to the changes of 2023, when it was determined that the basic salary of magistrates would be 36% of the salary of the President of the Republic, specifically around 153 thousand lekë. Previously, the reference for calculating the salary was that of the director of the department in the Prime Minister's Office, which at that time was 132,100 lekë.
Although the change brought a nominal increase of over 20 thousand lek, the judges argue that in practice it has produced a relative decrease in their salary. This is because in the same period the government increased salaries in the public administration, bringing the salary of the director of the department in the Prime Minister's Office to 231 thousand lek. According to them, if the reference had remained the same, the salary of magistrates would have been about 78 thousand lek higher.
For this reason, they are requesting from the Constitutional Court the repeal of the legal changes or the definition of a new formula, which according to them should be 54.3% of the President's salary, as well as the automatic reflection of any general salary increase.
Prime Minister Edi Rama has publicly opposed the request, describing the debate as unfairly incited and has asked the Constitutional Court not to consider what he considers to be unfounded arguments.
" I really hope that the Constitutional Court will not leave this great stain of shame on Albania and will not force us to seek other remedies. Whoever is interested, let them get the recording of that session, see what happens and they will understand very well how absurd this story is, with judges who want to increase their own salaries, God himself, the stick himself ", declared Prime Minister Rama.
On the other hand, the Association of Prosecutors and the Association of Judges have defended the appeal, emphasizing that any change that brings regression to previous standards of financial treatment constitutes a violation of constitutional guarantees and the independence of the justice system. The Association of Judges has accused the government of creating a “populist smokescreen” and public pressure on a constitutional process.
The Constitutional Court's decision is expected to have an impact not only on the level of salaries of judges and prosecutors, but also on the institutional relationship between the executive and judicial branches, at a time when the debate on justice reform remains sensitive.
Depending on the interpretation of the salary calculation formula, the increase for magistrates could range from around 1,800 euros for the first instance to over 3,000 euros for the Appeal levels of the GJKKO and SPAK.
The Constitutional Court is expected to give its final word, which will determine whether the 2023 legal changes are in line with the Constitution or whether a review of the current salary scheme will be required.
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