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

Coincidentally or not, the Bucharest Court of Appeal decided to postpone the decision on the challenge of CCR judges, Mihai Busuioc and Dacian Dragoș, to the same day that the CCR is to rule on magistrates’ pensions, namely January 16.

Lawyer Silvia Uscov challenged the appointment, last summer, of two Constitutional Court judges. They are Mihai Busuioc and Dacian Dragoș.

The December 29, 2025 meeting of the Constitutional Court of Romania on magistrates’ pensions ended with a postponement due to lack of quorum. The initial hearing took place on Sunday, December 28, but was postponed to December 29.

The next hearing will take place on January 16.

Only 5 of the 9 judges were present in the courtroom.

The normative act aims at major changes regarding the special pensions of magistrates.

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

The High Court refers the law on special pensions to the Constitutional Court once again

The notification was sent to the Constitutional Court after Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan assumed responsibility in Parliament for the second version of the bill. The judges of the High Court unanimously decided to challenge the normative act, claiming that the new regulations affect the independence of the judiciary and lead, in fact, to the abolition of the service pension for magistrates. The decision was adopted by the vote of all 102 judges present.

The first form of the law on magistrates’ pensions was rejected by the Constitutional Court on October 20, the motivation being related to the lack of an opinion from the Superior Council of Magistracy.

The reform project currently under analysis by the CCR provides for a change in the method of calculating the pension, which will represent 55% of the average gross allowances received in the last five years of activity, with a maximum ceiling of 70% of the last net allowance. At the same time, it is proposed to increase the minimum length of service required for retirement from 25 to 35 years, as well as to increase the retirement age to 65 years.

The application of the new rules would be phased in. The transition period is set at 15 years, starting with January 1, 2026, during which the retirement age will gradually increase, by one year. According to the project, in 2042, magistrates would be able to retire at the age of 65.