Protesting pension cuts escalate in Romania, leading to widespread suspension of prosecutor and court activities nationwide
The Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) has announced a nationwide protest by district courts and tribunals against a proposed pension reform for magistrates. The protest, which began on August 28, was led by almost all prosecutors' offices in Romania, with a few exceptions.
The issue at hand is the government's plan to reform the magistrates' pension system. The plan includes raising the retirement age to 65 and capping pensions to 70% of the net salary. However, currently, magistrates' pensions are calculated at 80% of the gross income, making them higher than the salary.
The protesting courts have requested the urgent withdrawal of the draft law regarding the reform of service pensions of magistrates. The suspension of activity by the prosecutors and judges is part of a nationwide protest led by district courts and tribunals.
The prosecutors of the Prosecutor's Office attached to the Bucharest Tribunal and judges of all the 16 Courts of Appeal in the country have suspended their activity indefinitely to protest the government's plan to cut magistrates' special pensions. The suspension of activity includes the handling of regular cases, with the exception of urgent cases such as those requiring preventive arrest or house arrest, or the execution of European arrest warrants.
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. They claim that magistrates cannot be the sole professional category to retain all its privileges while other state employees have their salaries or positions cut.
The CSM has also asked the Constitutional Court of Romania to consider notifying it to establish a potential constitutional conflict between the Judicial Authority and the Government or Parliament. Prosecutors have asked the CSM to issue a negative opinion regarding the prepared reform.
The protest also includes a request for the cessation of an aggressive campaign against the judicial authority. The name of the person who presented the Romanian government with the plan for reforming the pension system for judges and prosecutors at the end of July is not mentioned in the provided search results.
The CSM made this announcement in a press release on Friday, August 29, and the initial protest was led by almost all prosecutors' offices in Romania, with a few exceptions. The suspension of activity by 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 has resulted from this protest.
The adoption of measures established by the 16 courts of appeal is also part of the protest. The protesting courts have made it clear that they stand united against the proposed pension reform for magistrates. The future of this reform and the resolution of the ongoing protest remain to be seen.
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