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

Monday’s CCR meeting has ended. It has been postponed again. The next meeting has been set for January 16.

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

The legislative act concerns major changes to magistrates’ special pensions.

The referral was sent to the CCR 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 legislative act, arguing that the new regulations affect the independence of the judiciary and effectively lead to the abolition of service pensions for magistrates. The decision was adopted with the votes of all 102 judges present.

First version, rejected

The first version of the law on magistrates’ pensions was rejected by the Constitutional Court on October 20, on the grounds that it lacked the approval of the Superior Council of Magistracy.

The reform bill currently under review by the Constitutional Court provides for a change in the way pensions are calculated, with pensions representing 55% of the average gross remuneration received in the last five years of service, with a ceiling of 70% of the last net remuneration. 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 raise the retirement age to 65.

The new rules would be implemented in stages

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

The Constitutional Court began debating the law on Sunday, but the ruling was postponed.

At one point, the debates were temporarily suspended, and later the session could not continue due to a lack of quorum after judges proposed by the PSD left the room.