Civil society: Lowing wages enhances corrupt potential in justice

Six organisations signed in this response have called the government's decision contrary to constitutional standards, and according to them, false facts have been used for lowering the salaries of judges and prosecutors.

They say they had reacted the same way at the time that Haradinaj's government-led salaries had increased in 2017.

According to them, despite the fact that civil society has consistently stressed that the decision to raise salaries has been contrary to the constitution and the law, the constitutionality of this decision has been confirmed by the Constitutional Court.

This decision has not been abolished by any other institution until criminal responsibility for making this decision has been confirmed. The same is reflected in the government's decision of February 12, 2020. As for decision-making of the Constitutional Court pertaining to Law No.06/ L-111 for Salaries in the Public Sector, the Constitutional Court in this case has ruled to abolish this law. Thus, the wage issue is not regulated by this law. The fact, from the time of the release of the Constitutional Court's act on this law until now, has passed over two years and four months”.

According to them, in this way, beyond claims, the salary of judges and prosecutors has already been confirmed on institutional road. So said in response, beyond formal qualifications, the Government's current decision represents lowering of the salaries of judges and prosecutors.

The Government's decision to raise the salaries of judges and prosecutors, the decision issued by both the Haradinaj government and the Kurti government, has already created legitimate expectations for all judges and prosecutors, that the constitutionality and legality of their salaries has already been confirmed. The Government's today's decision, with the reasoning of bringing the case to justice on Law No.06/ The L-111 for Salaries in the Public Sector, which has been brought forward two years ago in four months clearly violates the legitimate expectations of all judges and prosecutors”, it is said further in response.

According to them, the Venice Commission has set the standards that lowering the salaries of judges and prosecutors is not allowed, except in very specific cases, which are not presented in the concrete situation.

“The responses of the Venice Commission were that: “The reduction of the judiciary's wages could occur only under conditions of a stressed economic and financial crisis, which should be officially recognised as such and that the judicial “independence requires a fundamental degree of financial security from arbitrary interference by the executive or other branches of power”.

For these, according to these six organisations, the Government's decision on lowering the salaries of judges and prosecutors clearly presents interference in the independence of the judiciary and is contrary to standards built by the Venice Commission.

Moreover, as far as it was in opposition, the Vetevendosje Movement itself in its request to the Constitutional Court had stressed that “ ... the bow and salary increase is the competence of the Republic of Kosovo Assembly...”.

In response, organizations: Columbus, get up, GSJP, Progress Initiative, IKD and Movement Fos estimate that this Government decision raises the corrupting potential in the justice system, so they have asked Government to urgently cancel the decision.