The Constitutional Court of Romania has once again postponed its decision on magistrates’ pensions

In a statement, the Court explained, „Considering the request to suspend deliberations in order to better examine the issues surrounding the case, as well as the documents submitted by the complainant on January 15, 2026 (extrajudicial accounting expertise pro causa) and certain relevant legal provisions (Article 211(6) of Law No. 303/2022), the Constitutional Court has decided to postpone its ruling on the objection of unconstitutionality regarding the law amending and supplementing certain legislative acts in the field of service pensions until February 11, 2026.”

This marks the fourth meeting of the Constitutional Court to address the special pensions of magistrates. A previous meeting on December 29, 2025, ended in postponement due to a lack of quorum, with only five of the nine judges present. Another meeting was held on Sunday, December 28, but was also postponed to December 29.

Bucharest Court of Appeal postpones decision on CCR judges to January 16

The CCR meeting on magistrates’ pensions ended again with a postponement

The referral to the Court was made after Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan took responsibility in Parliament for the second version of the bill. The High Court judges unanimously decided to challenge the law, arguing that the new regulations undermine the independence of the judiciary and effectively abolish service pensions for magistrates. This decision was adopted with the votes of all 102 judges present.

The first version of the law regarding magistrates’ pensions was rejected

The first version of the law regarding magistrates’ pensions was rejected by the Constitutional Court on October 20 due to its lack of approval from the Superior Council of Magistracy.

The reform bill currently under review proposes changes to how pensions are calculated, stipulating that pensions would be equivalent to 55% of the average gross remuneration received over the last five years of service, with a maximum of 70% of the last net remuneration. Additionally, the bill suggests increasing the minimum length of service required for retirement from 25 to 35 years and raising the retirement age to 65.

The new rules would be implemented gradually over a 15-year transition period, beginning on January 1, 2026, during which the retirement age would increase by one year each year. By 2042, magistrates would be required to retire at the age of 65.