Magistrates’ Salaries to Rise by 8,500 Lek: Economy Committee Approves Socialist Party Draft in Principle

The Socialist Party draft foresees an increase from 36% to 38% of the President of the Republic’s salary, adding around 8,500 lek to magistrates’ reference salary, while their own demand — also approved by the High Judicial Council and the High Prosecutorial Council — is nine times higher.

Amid debates with the opposition, the majority argued that the proposed formula implements the Constitutional Court’s ruling, while insisting that no one not authorized by law can decide on the State Treasury’s money.

This approval is expected to also pass in Parliament.

Socialist Party MP Aulona Bylykbashi, the proposer of the draft amending magistrates’ salaries, clarified that the Court has not imposed a single numerical formula for determining salaries, but has left the choice of model to the legislature, provided constitutional standards are respected.

“What matters is that the court has not imposed a single numerical formula; the choice of model is entirely at the legislature’s discretion, provided it respects constitutional standards. The first change concerns the base reference salary. In Article 1 we propose that the salary coefficient rise from 0.36–0.38% of the President of the Republic’s salary. The 0.38% coefficient is the result of an assessment. The salary is not isolated; the gross salary includes group classification, seniority,” said Bylykbashi.

Socialist Party MP Erion Braçe, meanwhile, criticized the judges’ decision on the salary issue, saying that with this decision-making, competences belonging to Parliament were seized:

“Their decision not only failed to consult MPs, but seized MPs’ competences. The Constitutional Court’s ruling does not ask the High Judicial Council and the High Prosecutorial Council to set the salaries of prosecutors and judges, but Parliament. The act they have carried out has no legal basis; it is a denounceable act. An act of self-justice unprecedented in this country, whereas the opposite should have happened. Forcing the treasury to pay for increased payments — I think we have lost seriousness and kicked public money in this country. Everyone must understand that this money is not the money of those who have the power to make decisions. It is taxpayers’ money.”

The draft law also received the government’s support. The Justice Ministry representative said the 0.38 coefficient meets the conditions set by the Constitutional Court, while the Finance Ministry deemed the cost affordable for the budget.

The opposition, meanwhile, opposed the draft, arguing that the government is not respecting the Constitutional Court’s rulings.

For Democratic Party MP Eno Bozdo, the situation created with salaries is the consequence of the government’s failure to respect Constitutional Court decisions.

“Everything has happened as a consequence of the government’s repeated failure to respect the Constitutional Court’s decisions. I am surprised by the fact that, although Parliament delegated the initiative to the government back in April of this year and the initiative comes not from the government but from two honorable colleagues. The Legislation Council has asked the Albanian government to present the draft law. We have here the representative of the Ministry of Justice who is very pleased. We lack the full financial bill, but we don’t have these figures in the explanatory report; without them we can’t proceed,” said Bozdo.

Democratic Party MP Bujar Leskaj, meanwhile, called the High Judicial Council’s and High Prosecutorial Council’s salary decisions illegal and said Parliament should not become Prime Minister Edi Rama’s “violin.”

“The High Judicial Council and the High Prosecutorial Council are, in my view, acting illegally with those decisions; we must demand the implementation of constitutional laws rather than become the violin of an irresponsible prime minister who created this situation to blackmail the justice system,” MP Leskaj declared in the Economy Committee.

The salary crisis in the justice system culminated after Parliament failed to approve the new salary formula by July 31, 2026, as the Constitutional Court had requested. After the deadline passed, on August 26 the High Judicial Council and two days later the High Prosecutorial Council themselves set the reference salary for judges and prosecutors, with a considerable increase, TCH reports.

But the Finance Ministry did not execute the payrolls with this calculation, arguing that setting salaries is Parliament’s competence.