TIRANA, Sept. 6 /ATA/ – A recent dispute over judges’ salaries is expected to be resolved through legislation in parliament, Prime Minister Edi Rama said on Sunday, stressing that each state institution must act within its constitutional remit.
Rama made the comments in a social media post sharing excerpts from Justice Minister Toni Gogu’s remarks at a news conference on Saturday.
“The executive proposes the salary fund for the judiciary and the legislature approves it,” Rama said, arguing that the Constitutional Court itself was waiting for parliament to implement its ruling on judicial salaries rather than taking action outside its powers.
“Each institution in its own place,” Rama said, adding that any alternative interpretation was, at best, “a waste of time.”
In his remarks a day ago, Justice Minister Toni Gogu said the dispute stemmed from a legal gap that would be addressed when parliament resumes its work on Tuesday.
“Public money is the citizens’ money, not the government’s. Every penny of the state budget must have legal authorisation before it can be spent,” Gogu said.
He stressed that Constitutional Court rulings were binding and could not be negotiated or treated as optional, adding that the legal gap was at the root of the current situation.
Gogu said the government’s priority was to ensure that the gap was addressed quickly and properly, in line with the Constitutional Court’s ruling and with its responsibility to safeguard the state budget.
“My duty is to ensure that this is done quickly, properly and in compliance with the Constitutional Court’s ruling, while also fully respecting our responsibility towards the state budget,” he said.
“I believe the dispute will be resolved in parliament, through legislation, because this is what the Constitutional Court has clearly determined,” Gogu added.
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