Blockage at CCR. How political leaders positioned themselves after the unprecedented conflict that broke out between two camps in the Constitutional Court / Law on pensions of magistrates, uncertain future

The four CCR judges who boycotted the last two sessions of the Court accuse the other five constitutional judges, led by the head of the institution, Simina Tănăsescu, of not following the usual procedures when they convened Monday's session overnight. In the face of this major and unprecedented conflict within the institution that must be a guarantor of the supremacy of the Constitution, the political leaders came out with reactions, the CCR having on the table a crucial law for the future of the Bolojan Government: the one regarding magistrates' pensions.

The leaders of PNL and USR were the first to react after the blocking of the law reducing magistrates' pensions on the CCR table. Voices from the PNL accused that the PSD is behind the blockade, which, through the CCR, is trying to make Ilie Bolojan leave the position of prime minister.

USR leaders harshly criticized CCR judges, and those from UDMR described the situation as “unprecedented”. The leader of AUR, George Simion, also had a brief reaction, reminding that CCR was also behind the decision to cancel last year's elections.

From the PSD, the reactions came later. The former Minister of Finance, Adrian Câciu, asked the Prime Minister to request the CCR to give a solution as quickly as possible in the case of magistrates' pensions.

• HotNews requested a reaction from the Government regarding this new postponement, but throughout the day the representatives of the Prime Minister or even Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan did not comment on the situation of the law on the pensions of magistrates which remained stuck on the table of the CCR judges.

The only coalition party president to react was Dominic Fritz: “Those who prevent, in any way, the making of a decision play a dangerous game”

USR President Dominic Fritz was the first and, as of this writing, the only coalition party president to publicly react after the CCR's repeated postponements of the special pensions project.

“I am convinced that what is supported almost unanimously by Romanians cannot be blocked indefinitely. The reform of special pensions is desired by citizens of all political colors, a rare unifying theme in an otherwise divided society. The tactical tricks we see at the Constitutional Court will not hold. The stake seems to be the protection of networks of interests within the judiciary and their privileges”, wrote Fritz on Facebook.

The USR leader says that “the pressure will increase” and that the reform proposed by the Bolojan Government in the field of magistrates' pensions is “common sense”: “It can no longer be stopped. And it is only the beginning”.

“And those who prevent, in any way, the making of a decision are playing a dangerous game. It is more obvious than ever that the reform of the Constitutional Court is a real emergency, that it is necessary to disconnect CCR judges from group interests and party orders. Something that the USR has been publicly demanding, by the way, for years. For those who refuse to do their job, there is a procedure to terminate the mandate. Even for CCR judges,” Fritz wrote.

Csoma Botond (UDMR): Certain judges practically boycott the activity and functioning of the Court by not appearing

One of the leaders of the UDMR, Csoma Botond, said, in a reaction to HotNews, that what is happening these days at CCR is “an unprecedented situation”.

“I don't think that, since the CCR has existed, there has been a similar situation, in which certain judges practically boycott the activity and operation of the Court by not appearing. In such conditions, the CCR cannot fulfill its constitutional role that it has according to the Constitution”, said the deputy.

In parallel, USR deputy Alexandru Dimitriu announced that he is starting the procedures for the four judges proposed by PSD who boycotted the last two meetings of the CCR to be excluded from the constitutional forum. However, Csoma Botond is skeptical that this could happen.

“I don't think they can be excluded, because Article 145 of the Constitution provides that constitutional judges are independent and irremovable during their term of office. They cannot be recalled by the entities that appointed them there, the president or the Parliament,” he explained.

“CCR judges have to go to work, that's it”

Asked how he sees the solution to this blockage, Csoma Botond said: “They have to go to work, that's it. So it can't procrastinate like this, for an unlimited period. They have to resolve this problem, there is an expectation in society and they have to fulfill their constitutional role, which they have, according to the Constitution.”

“What is the Prime Minister to do? The Prime Minister or the Government cannot act instead of the CCR. It has no powers in this regard. So the Government practically has no possibility, just to wait, unfortunately, there is no other solution. But we must go the same way we started and have this decision and political decision to go all the way with this measure”, explained Csoma Botond.

Asked if the UDMR also believes that the PSD is behind the blockage of this project, as many voices from the PNL and USR have accused, the leader of the UDMR Csoma Botond said that “it is difficult to say”.

“I understood that those judges who did not show up were appointed by the PSD. Now I would not like to create a mess in the coalition, because people do not expect endless arguments from us, they expect solutions. I would not like to speculate on this aspect,” said the UDMR deputy.

PNL accuses pressure from PSD on Ilie Bolojan

The President of the Senate, Mircea Abrudean, an important voice in the PNL since the leadership of the party was taken over by Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, also had a reaction after the judges from the CCR postponed, for the third time, a decision on the special pensions of the magistrates.

Abrudean assured that Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan and PNL will not give in to “pressures”, without clearly explaining what pressures they are referring to.

“Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan will not give in to the pressures, and neither will the National Liberal Party, regardless of whether they come from the political or institutional area. Let us be aware that the blockages have real consequences: we risk losing PNRR funds. Romania must move forward. The reform can no longer be postponed,” wrote Mircea Abrudean on Facebook.

After his party colleague, the president of the Senate, Mircea Abrudean, spoke about “pressures” on Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan and the PNL, the vice-president and deputy of the PNL Alexandru Muraru clearly names the “source” of the alleged pressures: PSD.

“The PSD believes that through such tricks they are forcing the departure of the prime minister and taking over the government together with the extremists from the AUR. Because that is what the PSEDists dream of every night”, according to Muraru.

A former PSD minister asks the Government to intervene

In a first public reaction from a PSD representative, former Finance Minister Adrian Câciu asked the Government to ask the CCR to make a decision as quickly as possible.

“The government should ask the Constitutional Court that the meeting is not held on January 16 and as soon as possible, right after New Year's Eve, if possible, and the decision must be taken. From my point of view, it's stupid. I don't know what happened there, I'm not in the country at the moment… I understand that there was no quorum. Why shouldn't there be a quorum? They must appear at the meeting, make a decision, yes, no,” said the former minister of Finance, Adrian Câciu, at Antena 3 CNN, quoted by News.ro.

“The government can, today, at this very moment, sign a letter to the CCR, requesting them to judge quickly, because we have already been sitting for two months, if I'm not mistaken, on this law, a law that is important for a PNRR milestone”, added Câciu.

George Simion: “What Claims Should We Have?”

The president of AUR, George Simion, was the first parliamentary party president to react after the CCR judges did not take a decision on the law on magistrates' pensions on Monday either, because the four judges proposed by the PSD did not appear at the meeting.

“CCR – the author of the coup”, the AUR leader wrote on Facebook, referring to the cancellation of the second round of the 2024 presidential elections, in which Elena Lasconi and Călin Georgescu had entered, sent to court for several charges, including actions against the constitutional order.

“What demands do we have from a captured, rotten and corrupt state?” George Simion also wrote on Facebook.

The harsh reaction of a deputy prime minister to CCR: “You're kind of joking”

Radu Miruță, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense from the USR, reacted harshly to the four judges of the Constitutional Court on Monday morning. His reaction was the first to come from the Executive area.

“CCR, you're kind of making fun of yourself and mocking the importance of the institution!”, Miruță wrote on Facebook shortly after the CCR judges did not make a decision on the law on magistrates' pensions even on Monday.

“It is not possible to be a CCR judge and leave the courtroom 2 times in order not to form a quorum, on a topic with a major impact for Romania”, accused the new USR Minister of Defense.

“Judge and assume, don't make fun,” he also wrote on the social network.

The law of the Bologna Government, uncertain future, for the second time in a few months: “Easter can be reached with these postponements”

Although it is the second draft law that the Government has assumed responsibility for in Parliament regarding the same subject, magistrates' pensions, this time too it is not clear whether the law will ever come to fruition.

If the first law failed at the CCR because the Government did not wait for the CSM's opinion, now the law is facing an unprecedented blockage in the history of the Constitutional Court.

HotNews wrote on Monday, citing CCR sources, that most likely the four constitutional judges who were absent from the session on Monday, December 29, will request on January 16 a new adjournment to a later date, January 28.

The four pro-PSD judges realized that they no longer have the majority, so the appeal filed by the High Court would have been rejected on December 10, and for this reason they then asked to postpone a decision, CCR sources also said.

Law 47 / 1992 provides that if three judges request the postponement of a decision, it is postponed, but it does not specify how many times this can be done, HotNews sources also explained: “It can also reach Easter, with these postponements, who knows what will happen until then”.

What the law proposed by the Bolojan Government provides

The law for which Ilie Bolojan assumed responsibility for the second time in the Parliament on December 2 has only one major difference compared to the first version, which failed at the CCR in October. Compared to the first option, the law provides for a transition period of 15 years, and not 10.

• The draft law stipulates that the pension be equal to 70% of the last net salary, as in the previous form proposed by the Bolojan Government.
• The transition period, however, increased from 10 to 15 years. Concretely, this means that in 15 years, magistrates will retire at 65.
• Each year, starting on January 1, 2026, the retirement age will increase by one year until, in 2042, prosecutors and judges retire at 65.
• According to the draft law, the amount of the service pension will be 55% of the calculation base, represented by the average of the gross allowances of the last 60 months, but not more than 70% of the last net allowance received in the activity.
• Magistrates will still be able to retire early, provided they have 35 years of service, but if they have not reached the age of 65, an annual penalty of “2% until they reach the standard retirement age in the public system” will be applied.

Currently, the service pension of magistrates represents 80% of the last gross salary.

The deadline for the law to come into force is January 1, 2026, something that became impossible after the postponement of a decision on Monday by the CCR. Thus, even if the law passes the CCR, it will later have to be amended in Parliament, before reaching the table of President Nicușor Dan for promulgation, in order to change the term of entry into force.