The regulation, published in the Official Gazette on August 8, creates a fund that guarantees magistrates 100 percent of their last salary, in addition to the pensions granted by the Social Security Fund (CSS).

The difference between the CSS payment and the total amount would be covered by the Judicial Branch, according to the initiative.

The Supreme justifies the measure by stating that in order to maintain judicial independence it is indispensable that judges “receive a sufficient and irreducible remuneration, commensurate with the importance of the function they perform”.

In addition, the fund remains in force for the judges even when their constitutional term expires or they retire for any reason before reaching retirement.

For attorney and congressman Ernesto Cedeno, the norm is openly unconstitutional and cites Article 163, numeral 3, of the Magna Carta which establishes that everything related to retirements must be regulated by law and prohibits the congressmen to endorse payments for such purposes through another mechanism.

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