TIRANA, September 21 /ATA/ Three major justice system associations—the National Association of Judges, the Union of Judges, and the Association of Prosecutors—have petitioned the Constitutional Court to repeal Law No. 95/2026, “On the salaries of magistrates,” approved by Parliament on September 18, and to suspend its implementation until a final ruling is made.
Deeming the law unconstitutional, the organizations are petitioning for its total repeal and requesting an immediate suspension of its enforcement until the Constitutional Court issues a final verdict. At the heart of their challenge is the new salary formula for magistrates, which ties their base pay to that of the President through a 0.38 coefficient.
Furthermore, the groups warn that the law threatens judicial independence. Under Article 138 of the Constitution, a magistrate’s salary is a key material guarantee of that independence.
Another claim concerns the parliamentary procedure used to adopt the law. The organizations state that the process failed to ensure genuine, transparent, and effective consultation with justice system representatives. According to them, notifications for the parliamentary committee hearings on September 15, 2026, were issued just minutes before the meetings began, making it impossible to present or substantively discuss their positions. The matter has now been submitted to the Constitutional Court, which will review the claims and consider the request to suspend the law’s implementation.
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