Romania’s Constitutional Court on Friday postponed a ruling on whether special pensions for magistrates were legal for a record fourth time.
The country’s top judge, Lia Savonea, is opposed to scrapping or recalculating the pensions for magistrates which cost the government hundreds of millions of euros every year.
About half an hour into Friday’s session, the nine judges decided unanimously to postpone the meeting, saying they needed time to analyze a 200-page report sent to them a day earlier by the High Court which Savonea heads.
Critics say the High Court report was merely another delaying tactic by magistrates who want to keep their privileges in the face of widespread public disapproval.
The repeated postponements could be costly for Romania in budget terms and politically. If Bucharest keeps the special pensions for magistrates, it risks losing 231 million euros of EU money.
Romania’s government drew up a draft law on Nov. 28 to reform the pensions which Parliament passed in early December. Key changes include capping pensions at 70% of the final net salary and gradually increasing the retirement age to 65 over 15 years, starting in 2026.
The court last postponed the decision regarding magistrate reforms and special pensions on December 29 after judges repeatedly failed to show up to court sessions.
Specifically, four magistrates from the Social-Democratic Party (the PSD) have boycotted sessions: Cristian Deliorga, Gheorghe Stan, Bogdan Licu and Mihai Busuioc.
According to the Court’s president, Simina Tănăsescu, current legislation does allow for the interruption of deliberation — that is, if it is justified by a need for closer inspection into matters.
Romania’s government is reducing public spending to address a large deficit and has introduced higher taxes including sales tax and property tax. Reducing costs on special pensions payment is part of the cuts the pro-European government has undertaken.
The government argues that reforming special pensions for magistrates are necessary for greater social equity in a burnt-out Romania, in which magistrate pensions soar beyond the norm for pensioners.
There have been public protests against the pensions and media reports which have exposed the issue.
The EU has scrutinized the spending and demanded that Romania make alterations.
Here’s the timeline of the delays made by the Constitutional Court:
Dec. 2: Savonea challenges the Government’s draft law immediately after its adoption by Parliament.
Dec. 10: At the first meeting of the Constitutional Court, the constitutional judges postpone the decision.
Dec. 28: Four judges, all proposed by the PSD – Gheorghe Stan, Bogdan Licu, Mihai Busuioc and Cristian Deliorga left the meeting so that no decision could be made.
Dec. 29: When the hearing resumed, the four judges who had left the room the day before failed to appear in court.
Jan. 15: The High Court sends a long report to the Constitutional Court arguing that reforms to the special pensions are not constitutional.
Jan. 16: All nine judges attend the session but unanimously vote to delay their ruling to have time to study the High Court’s report.
While the judges repeated delays have sparked public criticism, the judges are within their right to postpone a ruling.
“There is no deadline, there is no rule to limit the postponements of the Court’s decision. Theoretically, we can witness a new or other postponements,” Tudorel Toader, a judge at the Constitutional Court for ten years and a former justice minister, told HotNews.
