Adnkronos (Adnkronos) – The salary adjustments for magistrates are "provided for by law" and "the actual amounts will be significantly lower than those circulated." These are the reactions to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's announcement to Adnkronos that she intends not to sign the Prime Ministerial Decree in order to comply with the rulings establishing a new calculation method for salary adjustments for magistrates.
"There was a lawsuit, there was a ruling. If the government complies well, if it doesn't comply or complies only partially, we will proceed with the compliance hearing. We believe in the rule of law," ANM Deputy Secretary Stefano Celli told Adnkronos.
"Regarding the recent press reports regarding magistrates' salary increases for the three-year periods 2018-2020 and 2021-2023, it is important to remember that the actual amounts will be significantly lower than those circulated, the result of a reconstruction based on unknown estimates and in the absence of certain parameters.
It should also be noted that by law, magistrates do not negotiate their own raises. To guarantee the independence of the judiciary, an automatic three-yearly adjustment mechanism is provided,” the Court of Auditors' Association of Magistrates stated in a statement.
"This mechanism," the note explains, "is linked to the average wage increases already recognized for other public sector categories for the same period.
In the past, the adjustments for the two three-year periods were calculated using criteria that proved to be illegitimate. Today, therefore, it is a matter of paying the salary components required by law, which the Administration has failed to pay for years. In this way, magistrates' raises are aligned with those already received by the rest of the public sector. The overall amount is the direct consequence of those delays. Any further delay only increases its burden. AMCC—the statement concludes—hopes that the issue be brought back to its proper technical and legal level, after verifying the figures released, thus avoiding political overtones.
Magistratura Indipendente, a branch within the National Magistrates' Association (ANM), has issued a statement signed by Secretary General Antonio D'Amato and President Giancarlo Dominijanni. "Regarding the Prime Minister's statements to Adnkronos, according to which the government should allocate 'almost a billion euros to magistrates' salary increases,' Magistratura Indipendente believes it is necessary to reestablish the truth of the facts. This is not about granting new raises, nor about awarding each magistrate €100.000 (an absolutely exorbitant and patently incorrect figure). These are sums owed by law, incorrectly paid over the years, and now in arrears precisely because of the Administration's serious delays for approximately seven years."
The Council of State has determined the illegitimacy of the calculation criteria applied by the Administration and ISTAT. The Lazio Regional Administrative Court has also annulled the documents relating to the subsequent three-year period. Therefore, the decree does not grant a privilege: it implements the law and—as the statement explains—the decisions of the administrative courts. The amounts actually due to individual magistrates are much lower than the published figures and vary according to seniority and salary position. Presenting this matter as a 'gift' is knowingly confusing a legal obligation with a discretionary political choice,” the statement continues.
Even more serious would be the deliberate failure to enforce judgments. Further delaying compliance could increase the burden on the State, fuel further litigation, and result in financial damage, with potential liability to be determined in the appropriate courts. The community cannot bear the costs resulting from the choice not to promptly implement binding judicial decisions. Magistratura Indipendente also rejects the idea of pitting magistrates against citizens in need. Protecting the vulnerable and respecting judgments are both duties of the State. One cannot become a pretext for ignoring the other. If the executive branch could ignore final judgments, it would be the most vulnerable who would pay the price: every right would depend on the favor of the power in power. No bonuses. No gifts. Judgments are respected, and the law applies to everyone, including the government,” concludes Magistratura Indipendente.
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