Magistrates’ salaries/ Tabaku calls for law to be withdrawn: Judges have not been paid for two months, parliamentary procedure was violated

Democratic Party MP Jorida Tabaku called from the parliamentary rostrum for the law on magistrates’ salaries to be withdrawn, arguing that parliamentary procedure had not been respected during its review.

According to Tabaku, the Constitution was also violated in this case.

She stated that the law regulating the status of prosecutors and magistrates has been submitted to Parliament several times. Tabaku recalled that when the law was challenged, one of the Constitutional Court’s requirements was for a consultation process to be conducted.

The MP said that the Human Rights Committee had requested a hearing with all the heads of justice institutions, a request that, according to her, was taken seriously by both the left and the right.

Meanwhile, she accused the Legal Affairs Committee of concluding its discussions and approving a decision without taking their request into consideration.

Tabaku said that Albania is the only country where Constitutional Court judges and other judges have gone unpaid for two months. She added that it is also the only country where the prime minister and ministers attack prosecutors and judges, while the judicial system is used whenever it suits day-to-day politics and, at the same time, is trampled upon.

In conclusion, the Democratic Party MP reiterated that the adoption of this law was accompanied by violations of the parliamentary process and Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, stressing that the Constitution and magistrates’ rights cannot be subject to negotiation.