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Magistrates' associations accuse European Commission of 'hypocrisy and irresponsibility' over special pension reform.
Four associations of judges and prosecutors have sent an open letter to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders, asking them to intervene for the immediate suspension of the special pension reform, accusing the European Commission of "hypocrisy and irresponsibility" for negotiating with the Government and not with the Romanian judiciary, told Agerpres.
The letter signed by Dana Garbovan - the National Union of Romanian Judges (UNJR), Andreea Ciuca - Romanian Magistrates Association (AMR), Florica Roman - Association of Judges for the Defence of Human Rights (AJADO) and Elena Iordache - Romanian Prosecutors Association (APR) comes in the context in which the special pension reform has been endorsed by the European Commission.
"We urge the European Commission to ask the Romanian Government to immediately suspend the so-called reform of the magistrates' service pensions, a completely non-transparent and irresponsible reform and, according to government sources, endorsed by the European Commission. This so-called 'reform' totally undermines the independence and functionality of the judiciary. Hundreds of judges have already left in the last 12 months and over 1,100 judicial positions are currently unfilled. The whole system is on the verge of collapse due to the overwhelming workload and insufficient number of judges, aggravated by the continuing threats to our status as a result of the 'reforms' approved by the European Commission. This must be stopped immediately!" reads the letter posted on the UNJR website.
The Romanian magistrates claim that, on May 29, a list of amendments was proposed by the ruling coalition "which fundamentally, unacceptably, untimely and completely non-transparently modify" the draft law amending the service pensions of magistrates, currently under final parliamentary debate at the Chamber of Deputies.
They claim that the law on magistrates' service pensions is an integral part of their statute and is precisely regulated by the justice laws.
"It is unacceptable and scandalous that now the European Commission not only approves, but actively participates in hidden negotiations with political parties on the statute of magistrates. We call on the European Commission to take full responsibility for the current disastrous situation of the judiciary, which is facing a serious human resources crisis, and to stop this so-called 'reform' immediately. Any substantial modification of the statute of magistrates should be carried out under conditions of stability in the system, especially when it comes to human resources, the stability and attractiveness of a judicial career," say Romanian magistrates.
