Hours after parliament’s approval, President Begaj decrees the magistrates’ salary law

Hours after its approval in Parliament, President Bajram Begaj has decreed the new law on judges’ and prosecutors’ salaries, paving the way for unblocking magistrates’ payments. The decision comes after Parliament’s request, which argued the urgency with the blocking of judges’ and prosecutors’ salaries since August 1, following the Constitutional Court’s annulment of the salary provisions.

With the law’s entry into force, the State Treasury can proceed with the blocked payments and subsequent ones. Parliament’s aim is for the back payments to be disbursable as of September 18.

The President argues that following the ordinary entry-into-force procedure would delay the process by 15 to 35 days, while the situation requires immediate intervention.

In the decree’s reasoning, Begaj stresses that constitutional debates on the salary level may continue in the competent instances, but the unblocking of payments can only be done through the new law’s entry into force.

According to the President, the decision on immediate entry into force is also linked to guaranteeing the independence of the judiciary and income stability for judges and prosecutors.

Full announcement:

The President of the Republic issued today the decree promulgating Law No. 95/2026, “On some additions and amendments to Law No. 96/2016, ‘On the status of judges and prosecutors in the Republic of Albania’, as amended,” after having previously given consent for its immediate entry into force. The President of the Republic gave consent for the law’s immediate entry into force based on Parliament’s request, which argued the need and urgency for immediate entry into force with the fact that the annulment of the provisions on magistrates’ salaries by the Constitutional Court’s decision had blocked the payment of salaries for all judges and prosecutors since August 1, 2026 onward.

Without the new law’s entry into force, the State Treasury cannot release the payments for magistrates.

Parliament’s goal was to enable the State Treasury’s payments for judges and prosecutors as of September 18, 2026 for the salaries blocked since August 1, 2026 and for subsequent ones. The law’s entry into force under ordinary procedures would have delayed this process by 15 to 35 days. The President of the Republic’s consent for the law’s immediate entry into force is a prerogative and constitutional instrument, justified by the need and urgency of the circumstances of the case. The constitutional arguments and counterarguments regarding the salary level may also be debated in other competent instances, but the lawful unblocking of the salary itself can only be done by bringing the new law into force.

The law’s immediate entry into force requires the President of the Republic to act immediately. For the President of the Republic, giving consent in this case serves the protection of an acute need, directly linked to the principle of judicial independence, which is guaranteeing the standard of living and income stability for all the country’s magistrates.