FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
The debate over the salary increase for magistrates, judges and prosecutors has entered a new phase, as the case has once again ended up in the Constitutional Court. Faced with the demands of magistrates for a salary increase, Prime Minister Edi Rama has described this request as absurd.
Invited to the show "Top Story", the chairman of the Laws Committee, Ulsi Manja, explained that this issue is not new and that the law on the status of judges and prosecutors is among the most debated in the country.
" I followed the debate because I come from that system, because I am the chairman of the Laws Commission, former Minister of Justice and a witness to the approval of the law on the status of prosecutors and judges. When I say famous law, it is important, but famous because since its approval in 2016 until today, I do not know of a law that has gone to the Constitutional Court three times and been intervened three times by the legislator, specifically in Article 12 ," said Manja.
He emphasized that the current debate is not a political clash, but a constitutional process between interested parties.
" It is not a debate that takes place at a distance between judges and the executive, because we are talking about a constitutional decision where the government is an interested party. In this case, the debate is taking place between two interested parties ," said Manja.
According to him, the fact that the issue has become so public is also related to the sensitivity that the topic of salaries arouses in society.
" For the first time, it is becoming so public because the issue of salaries in general arouses debate. A request for a salary increase from any interested party is legitimate. But in a democratic state, the salary system cannot be a wish list. The salary system is a reflection of the political, democratic and social functioning of a state ," he declared.
Manja explained that the 2016 law provided for a special status for magistrates, which included not only salary, but also other financial elements.
" The main principle of the law on determining the salary was respecting the dignity of the profession. The criteria were the degree to which the magistrate exercises the function, seniority, competence, leadership position, allowances for qualifications, financial treatment, compensation for transfers, supplementary pension, life insurance and allowances for the difficulty of the profession ," said Manja.
Referring to the current debate on the reference salary, he emphasized that the changes were made in accordance with the decisions of the Constitutional Court.
" Article 138 clearly states: do not reduce the salary of the magistrate. We did not reduce it, on the contrary, we increased it. But it does not mean that every new calculation formula that gives a smaller benefit is a violation of the Constitution, while a formula that gives a larger benefit is a constitutional obligation ," said Manja.
He added that linking the reference salary of magistrates to the salary of the President of the Republic is the highest possible assessment by the state.
" I don't know of any greater appreciation than comparing the salary of a magistrate to the salary of the President of the Republic ," Manja concluded.
I lumte z. Manja per mendimet e arsyeshme qe ka shprehur.