Demonstrations against proposed pension cuts intensify, leading to a halt in operations at multiple prosecutors' offices and courts throughout Romania
The Romanian government has announced that it will only handle urgent cases, such as those requiring preventive arrest or house arrest or the execution of European arrest warrants, as prosecutors and judges across the country have suspended their activities indefinitely to protest against the government's proposed pension reform.
The strike, which has resulted in the suspension of activity in 16 prosecutor's offices attached to courts of appeal, 46 prosecutor's offices attached to tribunals, and 169 prosecutor's offices attached to district courts, is part of a broader protest against the government's cost-cutting efforts.
Under the current formula, magistrates' pensions are calculated at 80% of the gross income, making them higher than the salary. The government argues that magistrates in the EU retire at the age of 65, while those in Romania have an average retirement age of 47. In an effort to address this disparity, Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan has presented a plan to reform the magistrates' pension system, raising the retirement age to 65 and capping pensions to 70% of the net salary.
The Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) announced on Friday, August 29, that all district courts and tribunals in Romania have joined the protest against the project modifying magistrates' pensions. The CSM also requested the cessation of the aggressive campaign against the judicial authority, which seriously affects the rule of law.
In response to the proposed reform, the prosecutors have asked the Superior Council of Magistracy to issue a negative opinion regarding the reform and to assess the opportunity of notifying the Constitutional Court of Romania to establish the existence of a legal conflict of a constitutional nature between the Judicial Authority and the Government, on the one hand, and between the Judicial Authority and Parliament, on the other hand.
The issue is a focal point in the executive's campaign to curtail expenses and a roughly 9% budget deficit in the public sector. However, the prosecutors contend that they cannot retain all their privileges while other state employees have their salaries or positions cut.
The Prosecutor's Office attached to the Bucharest Tribunal, along with judges of all 16 Courts of Appeal in Romania, have announced an indefinite suspension of their activity to protest the government project to cut magistrates' special pensions. The strikes have led to the suspension of activity in almost all prosecutors' offices in Romania, with a few exceptions.
The search results do not provide information on who proposed the reform of the judge pension system in Romania. The government has not yet commented on the ongoing strike or the proposed reform. The situation remains fluid, and it is unclear how long the strike will continue or how the government will respond.
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