Nicușor Dan, “message for Romanians” after the CCR decision. How long is the head of state waiting for the issue of magistrates' pensions to be resolved

President Nicușor Dan was convinced on Monday evening, after the rejection at the CCR of the legislative project assumed in the Parliament by the Bolojan government, that the law on magistrates' pensions will be changed during this year, showing that he noted that there is “political will” in this regard. In this context, the head of state sent a direct “message” to the Romanians.

“It's an emotional moment, because there was a lot of public expectation for this law. There were several versions in recent years that, however, had various problems, some were also declared unconstitutional, but what's important, in my opinion, is that there is a will at the level of the governing coalition for this problem to be solved,” said the head of state, in an interview granted to Antena 1.

“Today, the Constitutional Court found, and we respect the decisions of the Constitutional Court, a formal objection, an opinion was not expected. Several of the coalition representatives have already come out and said that they will come back with a project that will comply with this opinion. So, my message to the Romanians who are looking at us is that this is a problem, the fact that pensions are equal to the salary and does not stimulate people to stay working, but incentives to get out of the system right when they are in power, it's a problem for the justice system and it's a social justice problem and it will be solved. No doubt here,” the president added.

Nicușor Dan also said that he expects the issue of magistrates' pensions to be resolved in 2025.

“I have witnessed several discussions in the governing coalition on this subject and I can tell you that all four parties and national minorities have a convergent opinion on this subject and I believe that in the course of 2025 this problem will be solved. It is a problem of social justice and it will be solved,” the head of state said.

“On the magistrates' pension law, I am convinced that this year we will have a new legal provision that we hope will pass the CCR, including waiting for that opinion of the CSM for a while, as the Court said, it will be respected”, he stated.

What Nicusor Dan says about a possible resignation of Prime Minister Bolojan

During the same interview on Monday evening, President Nicușor Dan stated that Ilie Bolojan should not leave the leadership of the government following the decision of the CCR.

“After the CCR decision, I did not speak with Bolojan, but we have a constant dialogue. No way, I have said this several times, law is a respectable science, only the interpretations precisely because the text of the law cannot provide for all the possibilities of situations in real life, the text is interpretable and then it happens that some interpret it this way, others the other way around, the Government interprets that the law can be given without notice. It is not such an important matter that the Government gives itself resignation”, said the head of state.

“Again, I'm coming back to explain – the law says you have to have an opinion, it doesn't say how long you have to wait for an opinion. A law says it, but not the Constitution, and the judges refer strictly to the Constitution. It's a matter of interpretation, it's not such an important matter,” said Nicușor Dan.

“And then the question is what is the reasonable term in which you wait for the opinion if this opinion does not come”, concluded the president.

Earlier in the day, after the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR) admitted the referral submitted by the High Court of Cassation of Justice (ICCJ) in relation to the law on the pensions of magistrates, for which the government pledged its responsibility in Parliament, and established that the normative act is unconstitutional, the head of state stated that the reform of magistrates' pensions “remains a priority”.

“It is not a position against the magistrates, but the correction of an abnormal provision – the pension equal to the salary – which the political class poorly regulated a few years ago. All parties in the coalition have undertaken the reform of the magistrates' pensions. Immediately after the publication of the Constitutional Court's Decision, a new legislative text will be drawn up, which will take into account today's decision, whereby the magistrates' pensions will be properly corrected fair for society”, wrote the head of state, in a statement published on his Facebook page.

CCR officially announced – more than three hours after the decision to admit the referral to the High Court on the law on magistrates' pensions – the reasons why the normative act was declared unconstitutional. The only argument offered was the one related to the lack of the opinion of the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM).

“Since Law no. 305/2022 (no – on the functioning of the Superior Council of the Magistracy) establishes a 30-day deadline for the issuance of the opinion by the CSM, the Government, as the initiator of the criticized normative act, has the obligation to comply with it”, said the CCR in the press release sent on Monday evening announcing that it accepted the objection of unconstitutionality formulated by the High Court of Cassation and Justice and found that the Law for the amendment and completion of some normative acts in the field of service pensions is, as a whole, unconstitutional.

The CCR invoked only extrinsic criticisms of unconstitutionality, i.e. related to the form of the law, not the content, because the constitutional judges did not analyze them.

The vote in the CCR was 5/4 for admitting the appeal to the Supreme Court, sources from the Constitutional Court told HotNews.