Romania’s Ministry of Labour unveiled for public consultations the revised law on magistrates’ pensions, and the government, in a press release, expressed its hope that the approval process, including by the Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM), will proceed expeditiously. However, CSM vice president Claudu Sandu has already publicly rejected the law as insufficient.
The bill is a cornerstone for the government of prime minister Ilie Bolojan, who needs to restore a sense of justice and fairness among public employees and get broader public support for the austerity measures aimed at bringing the public deficit from 9.3% of GDP last year to 8.4% this year and 6%-6.5% in 2026.
Romania also has to address the “special pensions” issue, under a Resilience facility milestone having a EUR 231 million grant attached, by November 28, and the government hopes that promoting this law under accelerated procedure in Parliament will be seen as satisfactory by the European Commission. The milestone was missed at its first deadline in May this year, and missing the six-month extension would result in losing the money.
The Constitutional Court has already rejected the law once on procedural grounds, after the High Court (ICCJ) referred the bill, citing a broader list of alleged irregularities, including a value of the pension insufficient to secure magistrates’ independence.
Under the revised draft of the law, the pension will be calculated as 55% of the average gross wage calculated for the last five years in office, not to exceed 70% of the latest net wage. This is no change from the initial draft of the law.
The retirement age for magistrates meeting the minimum service of 25 years is gradually lifted to the standard retirement age of 65 years within 15 years (by 2041). This represents a 5-year extension compared to the initial form of the law, rejected by CCR. In the minimum 25 years of seniority in the magistracy required for retirement, the assimilated period of activity in other legal fields will be 10 years.
The CSM vice president objected to the value of the pension, arguing that this would create discrimination among the magistrates who have enjoyed better retirement terms and those retiring in the future.
“We said 65% of the gross, just like all other categories of civil servants who have a service [special] pension,” Claudiu Sandu, vice president of the CSM, told Digi24. He said this would account for some 85% of the net wage, although experts indicated some 97%.
He also said magistrates would accept a 17-year, instead of a 15-year provision by the law, as a phase-in of the retirement age.
iulian@romania-insider.com
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