The clash over the salaries of judges and prosecutors is no longer just a technical debate. It has once again highlighted how pay is distributed at the top of the state and how far it stands from the average salary in the country. At the center of the debate is a request for a 43% increase in the reference salary of magistrates, a move that, according to the official version, has been blocked by the Ministry of Finance on the argument that salaries are determined by Parliament.
How much magistrates are paid today
Currently, the average salary of a judge or prosecutor, calculated with the coefficient and seniority, is 156,800 lek per month. Within the system, the differences are significant depending on role and experience.
A special prosecutor at SPAK with more than 10 years of seniority is paid more than 446,056 lek. A prosecutor at the General Prosecution Office receives 270,537 lek, a prosecutor at the Court of Appeal receives 243,325 lek with more than seven years of experience, while a first-instance judge is paid an average of 218,380 lek.
Under the formula currently in force, the salary rises every year by 2% of the reference salary, further widening the gap between the level of the justice system and the rest of the public administration.
The request for a 43% increase and the Finance Ministry’s block
The debate flared up after members of the High Judicial Council decided to increase judges’ reference salary by 65,600 lek, or 43% more than the previous level. From 156,800 lek, the reference salary would rise to 222,425 lek, plus an additional 14,000 lek for qualifications.
This move was also accompanied by the submission of payrolls to the treasury without Parliament’s approval, opening a sharp institutional clash. The Ministry of Finance did not execute these payrolls, maintaining the position that setting salaries is the competence of Parliament.
If this increase were implemented, a special prosecutor would rise to 511,656 lek, prosecutors in the General Prosecution Office to 336,137 lek, Court of Appeal prosecutors to 308,925 lek and judges to 283,980 lek.
The political clash and comparison with the region
Prime Minister Edi Rama has described the judges’ request as the highest in the region. According to the comparison cited by him, Albania currently ranks fourth for the average salary of judges at 3,804 euros, after Greece with 5,451 euros, Romania with 5,422 euros and Slovenia with 4,193 euros.
According to the same comparison, if the requested increase were applied, Albania would move into first place with an average judges’ salary of 5,735 euros. This is part of the argument the government is using to oppose the increase, while on the other side institutions of the justice system have backed a formula higher than the one proposed politically.
The formula proposed by the Socialists foresees that the reference salary of magistrates should be 0.38 of the salary of the President of the Republic, up from 0.36 previously. Under this solution, the increase would be about 8,500 lek, while the version backed by the High Judicial Council and the High Prosecutorial Council comes out to be around nine times higher.
Where other state salaries rank
The average salary in Albania is 92,150 lek per month. In the state sector it is calculated at 107,090 lek, while in the private sector it is 86,094 lek. This makes the gap with salaries at the top of institutions even more visible.
The President of the Republic is paid 435,625 lek per month, the Prime Minister 413,000 lek, while MPs, after the salary doubling in May, receive 310,250 lek per month.
At other levels of public service, police officers range on average from 100,000 to 156,000 lek per month. Nurses and doctors range from 92,500 to 143,500 lek, while teachers range from 73,000 to 107,000 lek per month.
The debate over magistrates’ salaries is moving beyond the figures and directly affecting the relationship between branches of power, the way decisions are made on public money and the standard the state sets for itself in relation to the majority of citizens.
In a country where the average salary remains clearly lower than salaries at the top of institutions, every increase at the highest levels of the state becomes not only a legal issue, but also a political test of transparency and public justification.