The Constitutional Court of Romania will discuss on September 24 the referral of the High Court of Cassation and Justice regarding the law on the service pensions of magistrates, for which the Government has assumed responsibility in Parliament.
The United Sections of the High Court of Cassation and Justice decided on Thursday to refer the law on the service pensions of magistrates to the Constitutional Court of Romania.
"By their vote, the judges of the Supreme Court send a clear 'no' to any attempt to weaken the independence of the judiciary and the constitutional status of the magistracy. The independence of the judiciary cannot be negotiated or relativized by conjunctural arguments. It is a fundamental condition of democracy and the rule of law," as stated in a press release from the High Court of Cassation and Justice, quoted by Agerpres.
According to the cited source, the law violates 37 mandatory decisions of the Constitutional Court and numerous fundamental principles of the rule of law.
"The main reasons for unconstitutionality concern the violation of the rule of law principle, the independence of the judiciary, legal security, legality and non-retroactivity of the law, legitimate trust, creating unjustified and objective discriminations, disregarding imperative legal obligations, such as requesting the mandatory opinion of the Superior Council of Magistracy regarding the final form of the law, disregarding substantial constitutional provisions regarding the conditions under which the government can assume responsibility, as well as numerous mandatory decisions of the Constitutional Court, and legislative technical norms," emphasized the Supreme Court.
The Government assumed responsibility in Parliament on Monday for the law that changes the retirement conditions for magistrates, one of the five laws adopted through this procedure.
According to the project, magistrates' pensions will be a maximum of 70% of the net salary received in the last month of activity. At the same time, the project provides that, after 10 years, magistrates will retire at the age of 65.
President Nicușor Dan proposed to the coalition that the transition period until the retirement age of magistrates reaches 65 years should not be ten years, but fifteen.
The head of state specified that, in recent years, Romanian magistrates have worked two to three times more than those in European countries.
Asked on Tuesday, if he will resign if the project regarding magistrates' pensions does not pass the Constitutional Court, Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan replied: "When you have an important project that is a milestone, if it does not pass, it is hard to assume that the government still has the legitimacy to come up with other measures."
UDMR President Kelemen Hunor stated on Tuesday evening that a potential failure of the law on the reform of magistrates' pensions at the Constitutional Court could trigger strong discontent among the population.
The Union leader argues that the adopted text is "correct" and "balanced," and a rejection would undermine confidence in the state's ability to regulate.