Gov't pledges responsibility for law on magistrates' pensions

The government pledged on Tuesday responsibility in Parliament for the law on the magistrates' pensions.Addressing the joint plenary sitting, Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan declared that the bill on the magistrates' pensions corrects a social injustice, but at the same time creates the premises for a sustainable pension system and fulfills a commitment undertaken by Romania under the NRRP, aligning social fairness with European obligations."The government pledges responsibility for the bill on the magistrates' pensions at a time when, as you know, the Constitutional Court, with a vote of 5 to 4, ruled that the 10-day waiting period for receiving an opinion from the Superior Council of Magistrates (CSM) was not sufficient. This time we also have the CSM's opinion, it is true, negative," stated Bolojan.He outlined the important elements of the project."First of all, it increases the retirement age for magistrates from the current 48-50 years to 65. It introduces an increase in the length of service, which was now 25 years, to a minimum of 35 years. This means that retirement under the age of 58 will no longer be possible, today we have retirement at 48. It also introduces a pension cap at 70% of the last net salary. Today, the pension is the same as the last salary. Also, compared to the first version of the bill, it extends the transition period from 10 years to 15 years, this means that every year from now on, each generation of magistrates will have to work one more year, in such a way that, gradually, the retirement age will increase in the next 15 years from 50 to 65 years," explained Bolojan.He pointed out that the bill also responds to a commitment assumed by Romania through the NRRP. The bill will also apply to auxiliary staff in courts and prosecutors' offices, employees of the National Institute of Forensic Expertise, as well as assistant magistrates and legal staff at the Constitutional Court.According to the Constitution, the Government may pledge responsibility before the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate convened in joint session, for a program, a declaration of general policy or a draft law. The Executive is dismissed if a motion of censure, submitted within three days of the presentation of the bill, has been voted on. If the motion of censure does not clear Parliament, the Government is not dismissed and the submitted bill is considered adopted.