TIRANA, Sept 19 /ATA/ Prime Minister Edi Rama continued his parliamentary remarks on magistrates’ salaries on Thursday, expressing concern over what he described as interaction between judges’ associations and the judiciary, referring to what he said could be coordinated moves.
“To see this kind of interaction between associations and Albania’s judiciary, and to see coordinated moves, is concerning,” Rama said. “To my knowledge, judges do not even discuss money with one another before reaching a decision, as they are prohibited from doing so. They discuss matters within a judicial panel, but they do not tell one another how they will rule on one case or another. To see this kind of organisation is concerning,” he said.
Rama urged MPs not to take the situation lightly, arguing that developments in relations between institutions affect the functioning of the state and democracy.
“I think all MPs here, regardless of which side they are on, should not take this matter so lightly, because life goes on and all the developments in this regard are developments that harm Albania. These developments do not help the country,” Rama said.
He stressed that the ruling majority would respect the Constitutional Court’s ruling and its interpretation of the decision, while noting that the court itself had left Parliament room to determine a solution within the framework of its ruling.
“We will respect the Constitutional Court’s ruling as we understand it. The court has left this discretion to Parliament. Indeed, the Constitutional Court has also set out the framework of options available to us at this point,” Rama said.
According to Rama, Parliament should send a clear message regarding the separation of powers between institutions.
Rama said Parliament’s role was to ensure it did not make the wrong decision, while stressing that the judiciary could not dictate how MPs should vote. He warned that blurring the roles of the two institutions could create a serious problem and denied that his position amounted to pressure or confrontation with the justice system.
“There is no confrontation or conflict of any kind with the justice system, nor is there any pressure whatsoever,” he said.
Addressing claims that the debate over magistrates’ salaries could be an attempt to pressure the justice institutions, Rama said SPAK had not sought a pay increase.
“If we follow the reasoning of those who have portrayed this as an attempt to exert pressure, SPAK has neither requested a pay rise nor submitted a payroll based on anything other than last year’s formula,” Rama said.
/r.e/sm/
