The State Anti-Corruption Commission (DKSK) condemned the move by the justices of the Constitutional Court to award themselves bonuses worth 35 percent of their salaries. DKSK head Biljana Ivanovska said that this can only be done through changes to the law, and not with unilateral vote by the justices.
It is true that the rules of the Constitutional Court are very dated, from 1991 or 1992, and the justices changed them recently in accordance with the law on courts. But they added an article to define their right to receive a bonus any time they see fit. The Constitution allows the Constitutional Court to arrange its work process with changes to the rules, but not their financial compensation, Ivanovska said.
The court issued a press release condemning the reporting on this development, and announced that it will clarify the situation soon. The court famously blocked a decision by the Government to try and reduce the gaping 2020 deficit a little by bringing all high ranking members of the public administration down to the minimum wage for a few months. The initial plan presented by nutjob Zaev over the spring was for a meaningful cut in public spending by putting the entire public administration on the minimum wage for two months. The “plan” was meant to show Zaev cared about something. Of course the plan was swiftly rejected by his own cabinet ministers. The Government then planned for a symbolic cut to the highest paying official only, but they forgot to exclude the justices of the Constitutional Court, who convened and killed the proposal, declaring it unconstitutional.
When asked why the justices hiked their salaries by 35%, their response was… and this isn’t meant to be satirical in any way: “The US and EU Ambassadors told us it was ok”. Nice to see Macedonia’s rulers were ok with this.
So, what have you done for yourself today?
