The Minister of Justice, after the CCR failed the law on magistrates' pensions: “A decision strictly on the extrinsic aspect”

The Minister of Justice, Radu Marinescu, stated on Monday, after the Constitutional Court rejected the project to reform the pensions of magistrates, that it is “very important” to bear in mind that the judges from the CCR did not reject the actual content of the proposed provisions, he pointed out that the decision is one on form and not on the substance of the law.

“I would like this decision of the CCR to be seen in the key to the functioning of the rule of law. In the CCR jurisprudence there are both admission decisions and rejection decisions, it is important that such a decision be extremely carefully and seriously examined and that any step in the future be taken with maximum attention to constitutionality, but also with concern to implement a government program that reflects expectations and desires citizens”, declared Radu Marinescu, on Antena 3.

“It is a decision to admit the criticisms of unconstitutionality strictly on the extrinsic aspect, not intrinsic, which aimed at the content. It is a very important thing”, pointed out the Minister of Justice.

“I am concerned with seeing exactly what the extrinsic or intrinsic arguments are and once again I stress that it is about extrinsic elements in order to then know what needs to be done to achieve that objective of social justice, social balance and the fulfillment of the government program. (…) The rule of law means constitutionality, respect for the law and respect for the principles of justice and social balance so that such exaggerations and situations that are inconsistent with the idea of social equity (pensions higher than salaries, in the case of magistrates, no) should no longer exist”, declared Marinescu.

Asked if the Government had the opinion of the Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM), the government official stated that it was requested.

“The Ministry of Justice was a co-initiator of this bill, but it did not take care of obtaining the opinions. As far as I know, this opinion was requested and it is worth mentioning that it is an advisory opinion. It must be requested and the constitutional jurisprudence says that there must be a reasonable period of time, in which the person who is requested to issue the opinion can examine this matter”, he also declared the minister.

About the eventual resignation of Prime Minister Bolojan: “A political decision”

Asked if he would like Ilie Bolojan to remain in the position of prime minister or to leave this position, the Minister of Justice answered: “I can only speak of my wishes, my responsibilities, my thoughts and my options. In no case can I speak about the prime minister who will make his decision in relation to all the elements he deems relevant. I would like to implement the government program, make the reforms necessary, legally, constitutionally, effectively and once again for the citizen who sent us to the positions we are in”.

Radu Marinescu added that he cannot say that he wants “one thing or another related to a certain person”, but that he can say that he wants “an efficient government that fulfills the proposed objectives”.

“The decision of the prime minister's departure or not is a political decision that can be taken at the coalition level or individually by his lordship,” concluded Marinescu, quoted by News.ro.

The Constitutional Court of Romania admitted, on Monday, the notification 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 on September 1, and established that the normative act is unconstitutional. The supreme court charged, among other things, that “once again, the importance of service pension in the economy of the principle of judicial independence has been ignored”.

The reasons invoked by the CCR concern the lack of approval of the Superior Council of the Magistracy (SCM), which could mean extrinsic reasons, i.e. of form, but not of content (intrinsic reasons), according to HotNews sources.

The law declared unconstitutional by the CCR stipulated that the magistrates' pension could not be higher than 70% of the last net salary received, compared to 80% of the last gross salary received, as it is now.

The normative act also provided for the establishment of the retirement age for magistrates at the standard age of the public pension system, namely 65 years. Now, magistrates can retire if they have 25 years of service, and in the Bolojan law the provision was that in order to retire, magistrates must have 35 years of service.

Bolojan made it clear that he is considering resigning if the project is rejected by the CCR.

The project to amend the magistrates' pension system was initiated by the Bolojan Government, which assumed responsibility in Parliament for this law on September 1. “We must restore justice, we must maintain respect for magistrates, but we must ensure a dose of equity. Romanian magistrates retire today at 48-49 years old, an average pension exceeds 24,000 lei, but many pensions even reach 35,000-40,000 lei, especially for magistrates who have also held leadership positions”, declared Bolojan in the plenary meeting of Parliament.

A day after pledging the Government's responsibility for the package of measures, Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan was asked by HotNews in a press conference if he would resign if the draft law on magistrates' pensions failed at the CCR.

“When you have an important project that is a milestone for making other similar decisions, if it doesn't pass, it's hard to assume that the Government still has the legitimacy to come up with similar measures in other areas,” answered the head of the Government.