Prosecutor Bogdan Staicu, vice-president of the Supreme Council of Magistrates (CSM), told Thursday's meeting marking the presentation of the National Anti-corruption Directorate's (DNA) 2025 activity report that the new retirement rules for magistrates are "drastic", following the Constitutional Court's recent ruling upholding the constitutionality of the new relevant law.
"2025 was a very difficult year for the judiciary. The endless discussions about the magistrates' status have worn us down. If a colleague were to ask me today whether it is fair to add 17 years to the seniority required for retirement, I would say it is not. If a female colleague were to ask whether the drastic retirement regime applicable to women-magistrates is fair given the equally drastic regime of incompatibilities and prohibitions, I would say no. And if another colleague were to ask whether it is fair to receive a pension half the size of someone who met the seniority criteria two years earlier, I would again say it is not. But I believe this is the definition of fairness in Romania at this moment," Staicu told DNA prosecutors.
Even so, he urged anti-corruption prosecutors "to stay true to their mission and not deviate from representing the general interests of society".
"We must keep the flag high and contribute to ensuring the level of civilization we want for Romania," the CSM vice-president added.
On Wednesday, the Constitutional Court ruled that the government's new bill reforming magistrates's pensions is constitutional. The law provides for a gradual increase of the retirement age to 65 and caps pensions at no more than 70% of the net salary earned in the final month of activity.
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