High Judicial Council chief demands Treasury execute court salaries
Published · Updated
What happened
High Judicial Council chairman Ilir Rusi sent a formal demand on 2026-09-03 for the Ministry of Finance and the Treasury to pay August salaries for judges and court administration under the Constitutional Court's 2026-02-17 ruling. Parliament had not passed the required legal amendments by 2026-07-31, and by 2026-09-10 Albanian media were reporting discussion of a possible SPAK complaint against Finance Minister Petrit Malaj.
Why it matters
The dispute now links a budget execution question to enforcement of a Constitutional Court ruling, with named institutions on both sides and a visible path toward prosecutorial review or a direct court-executive confrontation. A move to SPAK or a forced payment order would turn an implementation dispute into a broader test of how Albania's institutions handle non-execution of binding judicial decisions.
On 2026-09-03, High Judicial Council chairman Ilir Rusi formally asked the Ministry of Finance and the Treasury to execute August salaries for judges and court administration, citing the Constitutional Court ruling of 2026-02-17 and parliament's missed 2026-07-31 deadline for legal amendments. By 2026-09-10, the dispute had moved beyond an administrative payment issue into open discussion of a possible complaint to SPAK against Finance Minister Petrit Malaj. The case is now an institutional enforcement test over whether the executive will implement a binding court ruling without further legislative delay.
Watch for
Ministry of Finance or Treasury publication by 2026-09-14 confirming execution of August salaries for judges and court administration High Judicial Council filing by 2026-09-14 of a formal complaint or referral naming Finance Minister Petrit Malaj SPAK acknowledgement by 2026-09-14 that it has received or registered a complaint tied to non-execution of the Constitutional Court ruling Assembly of Albania agenda or committee notice by 2026-09-14 placing the overdue judicial-pay amendments back on the calendar