Romania’s High Court (ICCJ) decided on September 4 to refer to the Constitutional Court the draft law regulating the magistrates’ retirement and pensions, a bill that prime minister Ilie Bolojan sees as critical for his staying in office.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The draft law is one of the five filed by the government to Parliament <\/a>on September 1 for accelerated legislation without debate. The opposition has already filed no-confidence motions against the government on all the other four bills, but the ruling coalition holds a robust majority and expressed joint support for the bills.<\/p>\n ICCJ argues that the bill is breaching the need for predictability as it follows a law with a similar content passed in 2023 and is generating discrepancies between the rights of different generations of magistrates, G4media.ro<\/a> reported. It also claims that the law was not subject to a genuine consultation with the professional organisations (the magistrates).<\/p>\n Prime minister Ilie Bolojan, in office since June 23, reportedly declared on September 2 that he will not remain at Victoria Palace if the law regarding the pensions of judges and prosecutors is overturned by the Constitutional Court.<\/p>\n Notably, president Nicusor Dan has argued for a milder version of the bill, including a 15-year transition period for the increase in the retirement age to normal retirement age compared to the 10-year period envisaged by the bill as drafted by the government.<\/p>\n Under the bill drafted by the government, the pensions are capped at 70% of the last net wage received by the retired magistrates, compared to 80% of the gross wage previously. Other provisions regarding the upward adjustment of pensions paid to retired magistrates are eliminated as well.<\/p>\n Notably, the magistrates who meet the retirement requirements at this moment are exempt from the provisions of the new law drafted by the government.<\/p>\n