Lia Savonea, message for Ilie Bolojan: “In a genuine state of law, the dialogue between the authorities cannot take the form of pressure”. The head of the High Court makes serious accusations against the Prime Minister

The head of the supreme court, Lia Savonea, accuses the prime minister of pressure and interference, after he sent a letter to the CCR in which he says that Romania will lose money from the PNRR if the Court does not take a decision on the magistrates' pensions. Lia Savonea makes an “appeal” to Ilie Bolojan “for respect for the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary”. It is not the first time that Savonea attacks Bolojan on the subject of the Government's project, which modifies the pensions of magistrates and which is blocked at the CCR, after four postponements.

In a press release called “Appeal to the prime minister for respect for the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary” and signed by Lia Savonea, the head of the supreme court expresses her “serious concern” regarding the content and meaning of the letter sent by Ilie Bolojan to the president of the CCR, Simina Tănăsescu.

Savonea claims that the “warning” regarding the loss of some European funds, but also the request that the court take into account financial consequences, “represents an interference incompatible with the principle of separation of powers in the state”.

Lia Savonea also adds that the argument according to which the finding of the unconstitutionality of the draft law on magistrates' pensions would automatically lead to the loss of some funds from the PNRR is, “from a legal point of view, inaccurate”.

“The conditionalities assumed by Romania within the PNRR in the matter of service pensions have already been addressed by the previously adopted legislation, and the direct and exclusive link between the amounts invoked and the bill subject to constitutionality control is not supported by the applicable European normative framework,” Savonea also says in the quoted statement.

Lia Savonea accuses “pressure”

The President of the ICCJ emphasizes that the CCR is not part of the implementation process of government policies and “not an instrument for validating the financial objectives of the Executive. Its only role is to guarantee the supremacy of the Constitution, and its decisions must be the exclusive result of legal analysis, not of considerations of political or budgetary expediency.”

The invocation of Article 148 of the Constitution – regarding the role of the Romanian state authorities in fulfilling the obligations assumed by Romania in relation to the European Union – cannot justify the exercise of pressure, be they indirect, on a jurisdictional authority, claims Savonea.

“The independence of the judiciary is not an obstacle to Romania's European commitments, but one of their essential conditions. Any approach that can be perceived as an attempt to influence a constitutional court risks causing serious damage to the credibility of the state's institutions and public trust in its democratic functioning.

In an authentic state of law, the dialogue between the authorities cannot take the form of pressure, and compliance with the Constitution cannot be conditioned by financial considerations.

We address to you, Mr. Prime Minister, the invitation to publicly reaffirm the Government's attachment to the principle of judicial independence and to avoid, in the future, any approach likely to be interpreted as an interference in the activity of the jurisdictional authorities”, adds Lia Savonea.

Ilie Bolojan's message for the head of CCR

Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan sent a letter to the president of the Constitutional Court, Simina Tănăsescu, on Friday in which he says that Romania depends on the decision of the CCR of February 11 in order to still have the chance to receive the 231 million euros related to the milestone regarding the reform of the magistrates' pensions from the National Program for Recovery and Resilience (PNRR).

The European Commission now considers that the milestone has not been met, but is waiting for the CCR's decision on the Government's project that reduces magistrates' pensions and increases their retirement age.

Bolojan says, in the document sent to the CCR, that the Minister of Investments and European Funds was informed, on January 30, that “based on the information available at this moment, the Commission considers Milestone 215 unfulfilled (no – regarding the reform of magistrates' pensions), resulting in the loss by Romania of the sum of 231 million euros”.

“However, the Commission will not transmit an official information letter regarding the evaluation results before February 11, 2026. Also, the Commission will transmit this information publicly only after this date, and will make a final decision based on the information transmitted by the Romanian authorities”, according to the letter sent by Bolojan to the head of the CCR.

Four postponements at the CCR on magistrates' pensions

Lia Savonea launched several attacks on Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan on the subject of the draft law that increases the retirement age of magistrates and reduces pensions.

On January 15, the court led by Savonea reported that “an independent specialist expertise was carried out”, and the conclusion is that “the Bologna Government cancels the service pension and seriously disregards the rights acquired from social contributions” following the project that changes the pensions of magistrates. The Supreme Court then said that the independence of the judiciary cannot be undermined by “arbitrary financial mechanisms” and argued that “the alleged budgetary balance cannot justify the elimination of guarantees that are valid throughout the European Union”.

The Constitutional Court has postponed a decision on the magistrates' pension law four times, the most recent postponement being set for 11 February 2026. The ruling on the objection of the High Court, led by Lia Savonea, was postponed to 10, 28 and 29 December 2025 and 16 January 2026.

At the first CCR meeting, on December 10, 2025, the constitutional judges postponed taking a decision. Later, at the meeting on December 28, four judges, all proposed by the PSD – Gheorghe Stan, Bogdan Licu, Mihai Busuioc and Cristian Deliorga – left the meeting, so no decision could be made. On December 29, when the session was resumed, the four judges who had left the courtroom the day before did not show up at all.

On January 16, the Constitutional Court announced that it decided to postpone the hearing, after new documents were submitted and the constitutional judges have to analyze them.