The majority continues to support the proposal to increase the reference salary of magistrates from 36% to 38% of the salary of the President of the Republic. The draft law was reviewed in the Committee on Economy and Finance, while the Socialists argued that the formula respects the decision of the Constitutional Court and the financial capabilities of the state.
According to the draft, the increase will be around 8,500 lek for the reference salary of magistrates. This is significantly lower than the request of the KLGJ and KLP, which have requested an increase of around 80,000 lek. The draft's proposer, Aulona Bylykbashi, said that the Constitutional Court has not determined a concrete formula, but has left the choice of the calculation method to the Assembly.
"With this initiative, we aim to implement the decision of the Constitutional Court. We aim to determine salaries, but also inequality in the hierarchy within the system. Article 138 guarantees that the salaries of benefits and judges cannot be reduced. The Constitution has not referred us to a mandatory formula, the choice is up to the legislator with the condition that there is no reduction. The coefficient 0.38 was chosen for constitutional guarantees for magistrates, but on the other hand, to put it bluntly, it took into account the possibilities of the state budget," said the draft proposer Aulona Byklykbashi. The draft law has also received the support of the government. The representative of the Ministry of Justice said that the proposed coefficient meets the conditions set by the Constitutional Court, while the Ministry of Finance considers the cost affordable.
"We thank the proposers. We believe that it meets the conditions set by the Constitutional Court," said the representative of the Ministry of Justice. The Ministry of Finance said: "The cost is acceptable, we agree."
The government has estimated around 1.5 billion lek in arrears, which relate to the period from April 2023, when the Constitutional Court requires the financial effects to be implemented. Due to the cost, the government proposes that the payment be made in installments over two years. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party has stated that it will vote against the majority bill, which is expected to be passed for approval in the session on September 17. MP Enno Bozdo described the situation as a consequence of the failure to implement the Constitutional Court's decision on time.
"This situation is a direct consequence of the failure to respect the decisions of the Constitutional Court. Since April, the government was asked for a draft law and it did not bring it, but colleagues brought it. We do not care at all, the decision of the Constitutional Court is law for us. On behalf of the group, I announce that we will vote against this draft law", said Bozdo. The debate on the salaries of magistrates escalated after the Assembly did not approve the new salary formula by July 31, according to the deadline set by the Constitutional Court. After the deadline expired, the KLGJ and KLP decided that from August 1, the reference salary would be calculated over 222 thousand 425 lek, plus an additional 14 thousand lek for qualification. The Ministry of Finance did not execute the payroll according to this formula, arguing that determining salaries is the competence of the Assembly.
