Prime Minister Edi Rama has responded to the criminal complaint filed with Albania’s Special Prosecutor’s Office (SPAK) against Finance Minister Petrit Malaj over the non-payment of magistrates’ salaries under a new pay formula.

In a statement posted on X, Rama said Malaj’s position was not an independent decision, but one fully coordinated with the government and its legal advisers.

Rama went further, arguing that his own name, as well as that of the Minister of Justice, should also have been included in the complaint because the Finance Minister had consulted with them before taking his position.

“The Minister of Finance consulted with us in advance on his position, and our legal teams unanimously agreed that the judiciary cannot open the door to the state treasury,” Rama said.

According to the Prime Minister, the implementation of the Constitutional Court’s decision on increasing magistrates’ salaries must go through Parliament, which he said has constitutional responsibility for managing and authorizing state budget expenditures.

Rama maintained that magistrates’ salaries will be increased, but only through a decision of the Albanian Parliament and in full compliance with the Constitutional Court’s ruling.

He also criticized the magistrates’ complaint, referring to the dispute as a “banal story” involving what he described as the country’s highest-paid professional category seeking to increase its own salaries.

The dispute follows a complaint filed with SPAK on September 8 by 18 court presidents and associations representing judges and prosecutors. They have asked prosecutors to investigate potential offenses including abuse of office and obstruction of the enforcement of court decisions.

The magistrates argue that the Constitutional Court’s ruling should have been implemented through decisions adopted by the High Judicial Council (KLGJ) and High Prosecutorial Council (KLP), with the new reference salary applying from August 1, 2026.

The Ministry of Finance, however, has maintained that the new salary formula cannot be implemented until the necessary legal changes are approved by Parliament.