The salaries of judges who will pass the integrity and professionalism test before the assessment commission will be increased. The head of the Parliament’s commission for appointments and immunities Olesea Stamate said that to maintain an integral system, the pays of judges who passed the vetting should be raised. Also, Olesea Stamate assured that together with the resignation of the judges of the Supreme Court of Justice, this Court will not stop work as the Ministry of Justice is considering temporary solutions for replacing the judges who left, IPN reports.
The head of the Parliament’s commission for appointments and immunities said the previous rise in the salaries of judges didn’t lead to the rooting out of corruption from the system as harsh control mechanisms were absent. The judges who will pass the vetting will benefit from higher salaries so that they do not have any temptation to take bribe.
“The rise in judges’ salaries should not be regarded as a potential problem. The judges should have decent salaries as this is one of the factors that ensure the independence of judges. There was no mechanism for controlling, checking and very harshly penalizing abuses when the salaries were raised the previous time. The salaries were increased without the judges being vetted. The rise in salaries led only to the rise in bribes. This is said by lawyers who know the situation from inside. We are now considering raising only the salaries of those who passed the vetting stage. If you passed the assessment and remained in the system, you will get a higher pay. Furthermore, the salaries of judges haven’t been adjusted since 2016. There is also a Constitutional Court decision that obliges us to index the salaries to the rate of inflation. Given the budgetary constraints, we cannot do this now, but we should do it. The judges who pass the assessment will definitely have an appropriate salary,” Olesea Stamate stated in the program “Résumé with Ileana Pîrgaru” on RliveTV channel.
Moreover, the PAS deputy chairwoman assured that the government is looking for solutions to maintain the Supreme Court of Justice functional after 80% of the judges of this Court resigned.
“There are yet judges who haven’t resigned. As regards those who tendered resignations, the dates when these will take effect are different and vary between the middle of March and the start of April. The Court will continue to work at a particular pace that will be slower yet. Evidently, not all the pending cases will be dealt with. At the same time, together with the Ministry of Justice, we are analyzing temporary solutions to replace the absent judges at the Supreme Court of Justice,” noted Olesea Stamate.
Out of 28 candidates for the post of member of the Superior Council of Magistracy, only five have passed the assessment, with the contest lasting for almost 12 months. The head of the Parliament’s commission for appointments and immunities Olesea Stamate said the assessment of all the judges of the system will be completed by 2025.
