Judges salaries from the Romanian Constitutional Court (CCR) have skyrocketed in the last year, with the chief Marian Enache reaching 63,647 lei gross (12,700 euros), even though the Government has capped some of the earnings, such as the hazardous conditions allowance.
This is happening while, in January, the average gross salary in Romania was 7,976 lei (approx. 1,600 euros).
Libertatea has analyzed the updated list of salaries at the Constitutional Court.
Marian Enache receives the aforementioned amount, which is composed of:
- monthly gross allowance of 47,074 lei
- 11,769 lei (allowance for risk and neuropsychological overload),
- 2,354 lei allowance for confidentiality,
- 1,500 lei allowance for hazardous conditions (amount capped according to the austerity budget law, whereas in the previous salary data, the allowance reached 7,061 lei),
- 950 lei for the doctorate title.
Here's how the salary of the CCR chief has evolved: At the end of September 2023, he was earning 62,145 lei, while in March last year his salary was only 42,122 lei, according to the data on the Court's website.
According to the Salary Law, "the President of the Constitutional Court is equal in rank to the President of the High Court of Cassation and Justice, and the judges of the Constitutional Court, to the Vice President of the High Court of Cassation and Justice, benefiting from an allowance equal to theirs at the maximum level, unconditional on the length of service as a judge or prosecutor, as well as the others."
Regular judges from the Romanian Constitutional Court have 61,288 lei in gross salary.
Compared to September 2023 and March 2023, the amount is higher, given that the salaries (gross) back then were 59,792 lei and 41,402 lei, respectively.
Some judges, who meet the necessary conditions to be entitled to a special service pension, also receive this second income.