High Court urges Assembly to pull magistrates' pay bill from 17 September session

Published 2026-09-16 · Updated 2026-10-02

What happened

Justice Minister Toni Gogu said in parliament on 15 September that the Assembly had not met the 31 July deadline set by Constitutional Court decision no. 15/2026 on magistrates’ pay. On 16 September, the High Court publicly urged the Assembly not to pass the draft law during the 17 September plenary session.

Why it matters

The Assembly now faces a dated legislative choice tied to a Constitutional Court ruling and a public intervention by the High Court. The outcome will shape whether the state moves ahead with a contested compliance bill, delays it, or opens a wider institutional dispute over implementation and budget treatment.

A live institutional dispute over magistrates’ pay moved closer to a parliamentary decision after Justice Minister Toni Gogu told the Assembly on 15 September that parliament had missed the 31 July implementation deadline set by Constitutional Court decision no. 15/2026. On 16 September, the High Court publicly asked the Assembly not to approve the draft law in the 17 September plenary session. The dispute now runs through the Constitutional Court ruling, parliament’s legislative handling, and the finance chain that would fund any pay adjustment, creating a near-term test of state compliance and inter-branch coordination.

Watch for

Assembly of Albania plenary agenda and vote record for 2026-09-17 showing whether the magistrates' pay draft law is kept, amended, or withdrawn High Court public filing or press release on 2026-09-17 specifying legal objections to the draft law text before plenary voting Ministry of Finance and Economy statement or budget note by 2026-09-19 quantifying the fiscal cost of implementing Constitutional Court decision no. 15/2026 Constitutional Court registry notice by 2026-09-19 of any new referral or compliance-related filing tied to decision no. 15/2026

Sources

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