The blocking of magistrates’ salaries for August has opened an institutional conflict between the judiciary and the executive.
Concerns about the Treasury’s failure to pass on the increased salaries of magistrates were raised by the High Judicial Council and the High Prosecutorial Council the day before (September 3), while today the clash has escalated into warnings of criminal prosecution.
The Supreme Court of Justice approved the basic reference salary with a decision dated August 26, while the Supreme Court of Justice with a decision dated August 28, providing for its implementation from August 1, 2026. However, despite the calculations and payment orders, financial execution has not been carried out for most of the justice system.
Journalist Arsen Rusta told MCN that the so-called third pillar of power is waging an open battle with the government, as the deadline for resolving the financial impasse expires today at 4:00 p.m. According to him, the situation has escalated significantly at the district level, where prosecutors are preparing the first legal steps against officials of the Ministry of Finance if the payment orders are not executed within the deadline set this afternoon.
“We learned today that some prosecutors, such as the one in Fier and the one in Elbasan, have officially addressed the Treasury Directorate, making it clear that every minute that salaries are delayed constitutes a serious criminal offense. According to them, this artificial blockage leads directly to the consumption of the elements of the criminal offense of abuse of office, while the deadline has been set at 16:00, after which criminal liability will be sought, and it remains to be seen whether this liability will fall on the technical structures or on the Minister of Finance himself. The response received from the second-tier banks proves that they have had a purely verbal communication not to pay salaries to magistrates, which clearly shows that private banks have been put under pure political pressure not to implement the law and the spending orders issued by the relevant institutions. From all the verifications carried out, it results that the country’s prosecutors have sufficient budget and finances to receive salaries only for the months of August and September, while for the month of October “There are no more funds available, anyway,” the journalist declares.
On the other hand, through a letter addressed to the High Judicial Council and the High Prosecutorial Council, the Minister of Finance, Malaj, explained that the payments have not been prohibited, but the problem is related to the method of their calculation.
According to the Ministry, the payrolls and expenditure orders for August were submitted by the Supreme Court and the Supreme Administrative Court based on a different methodology than the one currently in force.
For this reason, it is required that the financial documentation be resubmitted using the methodology that was implemented until July.
The Ministry of Finance has stated that once parliament approves the necessary changes, it will provide the necessary financial resources to cover any salary differences that will be required. But magistrates expect salaries to be paid today.