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Rama opens several "war" fronts with justice...
Prime Minister Edi Rama reopened an old debate today, that of judges' salaries. Through a post on social media, he accused judges of wanting millions of extra leks, even though they are paid much more than some other categories.
His attack came after a reaction from the Judges' Association, which demanded that the pressures on the Constitutional Court regarding the "Balluku" case stop. Apparently, this was not absorbed by Rama, who came out to talk about salaries, wanting to show that a "republic of judges or prosecutors" is being attempted. According to him, they know the sea and want salaries of "sheikhs".
But what is it really about?
This is a request made to the Constitutional Court by the Union of Judges, which has requested an increase in the judges' salary by approximately 800 euros. This is an issue that has caused debate since June, when the lawsuit was filed. At that time, Edi Rama reacted harshly, exerting pressure on the Constitutional Court.
The request of the Union of Judges is: “ Abolition as incompatible with the Constitution of the Republic of Albania of articles 1 and 2 of law no. 33/2023 “On an amendment to law no. 96/2016 “On the status of judges and prosecutors in the Republic of Albania”” which provide for: 1- “a) the basic reference salary for judicial and prosecutorial functions which is the same as multiplying the coefficient 0.36 by the salary of the President of the Republic” and 2- “2. For the year 2023 the basic reference salary for judicial and prosecutorial functions is calculated according to this law from April 1, based, for the purpose of the calculation, on the salary of the President of the Republic of 425,000 (four hundred and twenty-five thousand) lek ”.
The court hearing on this matter was scheduled at the Constitutional Court on December 11, but it is learned that it has been postponed to January 20. The postponement occurred a few days ago and has nothing to do with today's debates.
The clash between the judiciary, the executive, and Parliament over the calculation of magistrates' salaries began in 2019, when the Supreme State Audit found that the calculation of judges' salaries made by the High Judicial Council was incorrect and that judges were being withheld part of their salary, based on the legal changes of 2016.
Parliament intervened in the law in 2021 and made such changes that the calculation made by the Supreme Court of Justice was considered fair and bypassed the proposals of the Supreme Court of Justice. These changes were seen by the judges as a salary reduction and a violation of Article 138 of the Constitution, where in order to preserve the independence of the judiciary, interventions of this nature are not allowed. The Union requested the repeal of the changes and the Constitutional Court decided in 2022 to accept the lawsuit, repealing the amended articles of the law “On the status of judges and prosecutors in the Republic of Albania” on the reference salary. The Constitutional Court asked the Assembly to review the law and clarify the reference to the salary of magistrates.
In 2023, the Assembly made new changes, based on the decision of the Constitutional Court, linking the salary of magistrates to that of the President of the Republic. This change brought an increase in the salaries of magistrates, as foreseen in the laws on justice reform, and increased the reference salary by 570 lek. At the same time, changes were also approved in the salaries of the civil administration, which were increased several times.
Judges, whose reference salary was now linked to that of the president, did not benefit from this salary increase. For the Union of Judges, these changes contradict Article 138 of the Constitution.
The Union interprets that the separation of judges' salaries from the civil administration and their non-benefit from the increases made to the administration's salaries brings in a way "a de facto reduction in salary, despite the fact that, formally, the salary has not been reduced, but has even increased by 570 lek". The Union says that with the changes to the salary system in 2023, magistrates are denied a salary increase of 78 thousand lek. /Pamphlet
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