Protest-led pause in legal proceedings across Romanian prosecutors' offices and courts due to retirement age adjustment and pension cuts.
In a significant development, prosecutors and judges in Romania have launched a protest against the government's plan to reform the magistrate pension system. The Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) announced on Friday, August 29, that all district courts and tribunals in Romania have joined the protest.
The protest was initially announced by the CSM through a press release on Thursday, August 28. The magistrates are objecting to a decision by the government to slash pensions for magistrates, planned for adoption next week. Under the current formula, magistrates' pensions are calculated at 80% of the gross income, making them higher than the salary.
The government, led by Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, has proposed a plan to reform the magistrates' pension system, raising the retirement age to 65 and capping pensions to 70% of the net salary. However, the magistrates argue that this reform would significantly reduce their pensions, which they see as a violation of their rights.
The Superior Council of Magistracy has been asked to issue negative opinions regarding the proposed 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, and between the Judicial Authority and Parliament.
The Prosecutor's Office attached to the Bucharest Tribunal, along with judges of all the 16 Courts of Appeal in Romania, have suspended their activity indefinitely to protest the government project to cut magistrates' special pensions. As a result of the protest, 16 prosecutor's offices attached to the courts of appeal, 46 prosecutor's offices attached to tribunals, and 169 prosecutor's offices attached to district courts have suspended their activity.
The magistrates are also responding to the strikes by protesting the government's cost-cutting efforts, which they believe are affecting the rule of law and the rights and freedoms of citizens. They demand the cessation of an aggressive campaign against the judicial authority that they believe is undermining the rule of law.
The government, on the other hand, argues that magistrates cannot be the sole professional category to retain all its privileges while other state employees have their salaries or positions cut. They claim that the current pension system is unsustainable and that reform is necessary to bring it in line with the pensions of other professionals.
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 magistrates argue that the reform would compromise the independence of the judiciary and undermine the rule of law. The protest is expected to continue until the government reconsiders its position on the reform.
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