On Monday, political scientist Cristian Pîrvulescu issued a stern warning on the Puterea Știrilor broadcast regarding the legislative package promoted by the government, which he considers a direct attack on the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary.
„Only the naive can imagine that this law, which has also been passed by the government, aims to reduce pensions or salaries in the judiciary. No, it aims to quickly retire a large number of magistrates and replace them with people who are subordinate to the government. This is the policy that Viktor Orban applied in Hungary in 2011, for which he was sanctioned by the European Court of Human Rights, because he illegally replaced the president of the Hungarian Supreme Court at the time, and it was considered to be political pressure (…).
I find it intolerable as a system, and civil society remains silent on an action that is clearly aimed at controlling the judiciary, at taking control of the judiciary. From my point of view, it is an attack on the rule of law,” said Cristian Pîrvulescu.
He stressed that the negative opinion issued by the Legislative Council clearly shows that the European Commission has never demanded what is happening now; on the contrary, the European institutions have recommended progressive measures to reduce large income disparities:
„The European Commission believes that more progressiveness is needed in terms of pensions and salaries. In other words, the European Commission suggested… that a progressive tax would be a good way to reduce this very large gap.”
Referring to magistrates’ pensions, Pîrvulescu explained that they are a guarantee of the independence of the judiciary:
„They are linked to the protection of legal independence. Salaries are part of what the European Court of Human Rights considers to be a protection of judicial independence. But in Romania, we cannot discuss this. The problem is that we are not taking individual cases and discussing an entire category that is publicly stigmatized and ostracized. And the prime minister thinks this is normal. It is not a normal policy.”
He added that the legislative package must also be judged in a constitutional context:
„It’s not just about the package itself, but about the whole context. The Constitutional Court also judges the context. Article 1 of the Constitution clearly states that Romania is a democratic, social state governed by the rule of law.”
Finally, Pîrvulescu criticized Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan’s attitude toward the welfare state:
„When we talk about the welfare state and the Bolojan government, we are talking about two things that are completely incompatible. Mr. Bolojan believes that the welfare state, which is a constitutional obligation and not a formal one, but a real one, is costly and cannot be sustained. People are beings who need to be protected… We cannot simply expose them just because we want to save money in the budget and not introduce progressive taxation.”
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