Prosecutors’ and judges’ associations reject Rama’s roundtable on magistrates’ pay: matter before Constitutional Court

The associations of prosecutors and judges have announced they refuse to engage in a dialogue with Prime Minister Edi Rama on the issue of magistrates’ salaries. The Prosecutors’ Association said it considers institutional dialogue an important instrument for addressing such matters and remains open to constructive communication with institutions.

However, given that the matter under consultation is directly linked to a constitutional process initiated by the magistrates’ associations before the Constitutional Court, they have requested that such a roundtable be held after the Constitutional Court takes a position on the matter. In their view, following a position from the Constitutional Court, institutional dialogue can proceed on a clearer framework and in full respect of the Court’s constitutional role and competences.

“The National Association of Judges of the Republic of Albania thanks you for conveying the Prime Minister’s invitation to hold a meeting on the issue of magistrates’ salaries and appreciates the expressed readiness for institutional dialogue on a matter directly linked to the status and functioning of the justice system,” the statement reads.

The association has consistently assessed that inter-institutional dialogue, when conducted with respect for the constitutional role and competences of each power, is a necessary instrument for identifying sustainable solutions. From this perspective, the issue of magistrates’ financial treatment should not be seen in isolation from the full set of guarantees that enable the independent, responsible and quality exercise of the judicial function.

However, under the current circumstances, when issues directly linked to the constitutional standard of magistrates’ pay have become the subject of a process already initiated before the Constitutional Court, the association assesses that its participation in an institutional discussion on the same matter before the conclusion of this process would not be appropriate. The constitutional decision is expected to clarify the parameters within which a fuller and more constructive discussion on the magistrates’ financial treatment mechanism can then take place.

For this reason, the association deems that the proposed discussion can take place at a later moment, once the relevant constitutional framework has been clarified. This position does not constitute a withdrawal from institutional dialogue nor a limitation of its readiness to contribute to discussions aimed at the sustainable improvement of the judiciary’s functioning.

“In our assessment, such a dialogue should not be limited only to the financial dimension of the magistrate’s status, but may include every element affecting the independence, efficiency and quality of justice. The guarantees of the judge’s status, including financial treatment, do not constitute privileges of a professional category, but are institutional instruments that should serve to create the conditions for the judiciary to offer citizens an independent, professional, impartial and effective service,” the statement continues.

“In this spirit, the National Association of Judges remains open and ready for institutional dialogue and cooperation, at an appropriate moment and on a clarified constitutional basis, on the issue of magistrates’ salaries as well as on any other matter linked to strengthening the quality and functioning of the justice system in the public interest,” the announcement concludes.