The average pension of former judges and prosecutors is about 5,000 euros a month and any modification of the law will lead to the system, threatens the Superior Council of Magistracy. The Romanians see with bad eyes the protest of the institution that represents the magistrates, considering that without these changes Romania will lose 231 million euros.
The SCM protested in opponent the modification of the special pensions of the magistrates. Photo: Shutterstock
The news that the Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) vehemently protests the cutting of special pensions, even if Romania will lose 231 million euros from PNRR – has been intensely debated on the Reddit platform.
The SCM has the role of ensuring the independence of justice and protecting the status of judges and prosecutors, and among the duties are the one to grant the advancement in office, the approval of the normative acts that regulate the activity of the magistrates, respectively the disciplinary sanction of the magistrates who do not comply with the norms of professional conduct.
The 215 Municipality, which Romania has to meet to access the money from PNRR – 231 million euros, provides “The entry into force of the legislative framework for reducing the expenses with special pensions”. The problems arose after the RCC decided that the progressive taxation proposed by the Government was unconstituional, so that the legislative initiative was not applied.
Following the decision of the RCC, which modified what had already been agreed with Brussels, the European Commission has completely suspended the payment of the third installment of the PNRR.
Magistrates threaten
The SCM announced yesterday that it refuses any change in special pensions and threatens with a “blockage” of the courts.
“Any resumption of public debates regarding the service pension brings back the risk of returning to the extremely difficult situation with which the judicial system has faced in previous years due to the same uncertainties of the magistrates regarding their status, which would lead to a real blockage at the level of the judicial authority “is shown in the CSM statement.
The statement also states that the regulation regarding the status of judges and prosecutors was fined recently, in 2023 the Law no. 282/2023 by which the right normative solution was established in terms of the pensions of the magistrates. Thus they have been awarded “The appropriate guarantees from the perspective of this financial component of the independence of justice, a situation that had the stabilizing effect regarding the human resources in the judicial system”, The council also draws attention.
According to the latest statistical data published by the National House of Public Pensions (CNPP), the average pension of former judges and prosecutors was in March 25,210 lei, of which only 7,400 lei would have been due. By Law 303/2022, the magistrates benefit from special pensions that include additional funds of almost 22,000 lei, paid from the state budget, ie from the taxes and taxes of all Romanians.
The draft law submitted by government coalition
The CSM reaction was triggered by the draft law, submitted yesterday in Parliament by Marcel Ciolacu, Cătălin Predoiu, Kelemen Hunor and Varujan Pambuccian. The project comes in the context in which the CCR declared unconstitutional in December 2024 a law that provided for the progressive taxation of special pensions. The main changes that parliamentarians will debate are retirement age, which will reach 65 years and reduce special pensions.
“It is proposed that, starting with January 1, 2026 the judges, the prosecutors, the judges of the Constitutional Court, the assistant magistrates from the High Court of Cassation and Justice and from the Constitutional Court, as well as the legal specialized personnel can be retired and can benefit from the service pension if they fulfill the condition of at least 25 years as a minimum of 25 years”is shown in the exposure of reasons of the law.
At the moment, prosecutors and judges can retire regardless of age, if they are 25 years old.
If the law submitted to the Parliament will be adopted, starting with 2026 the retirement age for magistrates will gradually increase, until 2045, when the age of retirement will reach 65 years.
A major provision is the decrease of the computing ceiling from 80%, as far as it is, to 65% of the average monthly income in the last two years before the retirement. This is to reduce the gap between “service pensions and state social insurance pensions”, according to the project.
What the Romanians say
“Do not give the special pension in hand on the PNR on the fence!”supported a user of the Reddit platform.
“Iote can no longer CSM of the welfare of the country Ahahahahahhahaha”commented another.
“CCR and CSM are some insatiables who steal from the mouths of the children and the elderly!” – Show another commentator.
“The SCM protests against the cutting of special pensions, even if Romania loses 231 million euros” – it would have been the culmination not to protest “ – someone else said.
“They have only to protest. Achilles’ true heel here is the CCR. The question I asked each (with an exception) parliamentary or USR candidate who did Ama here (a kind of bathroom) was always” as a legislative proposal to cut the special pensions that (1) and to the It passes the RCC, what should be equal to the first, but it is not too “. I received 0 answers” – supported another user.
“The Romanian politics is actually its own and personal political.– commented someone else.
“Corruptions with special pensions. Good luck with the EU”
“Corruptions with special pensions. Good luck with the EU”– He supported a commentator.
“Stop being like Saraki, gather houses, cars, jewelry, paintings, actions of CSM and CCR members and exceed 231 million EUR”says someone else
“Well, they would be able to get the country in bankruptcy to keep their privileges“- shows another commentator.
“The solution is not to put at the CCR polytri. Possibly even to be chosen by the population”someone said.
“A stupid idea. Without getting too far in details, I’ll take it from another direction. Be careful. Most countries in the world (or at least of the republics with some rule of law) have a constitutional court. Do you know how much they are chosen by the population? 0 (zero). Variations in our appointment model at CCR are in almost all, including Germany, Austria, etc. In France it is somewhat worse, but in the end. The phase is that when you criticize this system, you say implicitly “the fool, I have a better idea, to call the CCR judges how we choose the mayors that look what the city is cool.” Didn’t the German think about this version and said it’s bad? The CCR is no more undemocratic than the government that you do not choose it directly ”– replied another user.
Most of the comments criticized the magistrate’s protest.
