According to the appellants, the decision was issued by an unauthorized entity, violated the law, lacked legal justification, and constituted an abuse of power, after they were notified via the Sahel application of the reduction of their exceptional pensions effective May 1, 2025. The court rejected the procedural objections submitted by the government. It affirmed the jurisdiction of the Judges’ Requests Circuit to hear the dispute, as it pertains to pensions due to their judicial positions, clarifying that this falls under the concept of “judges’ professional affairs” according to Article 50 of the Judicial Organization Law.

The court explained that Article 80 of the Social Security Law grants the Cabinet the discretionary power to award exceptional pensions, thereby creating a legal status. Consequently, this authority also has the power to review the value of such pensions to serve the public interest and maintain financial balance. Protecting acquired legal statuses is not an absolute principle.

Rather, it is permissible, as an exception, to modify their future effects when considerations of justice, the public interest, or the need to correct situations that violate the principle of equality so require. The court found the reasons presented by the Cabinet, namely, reviewing areas of waste in the general budget, rationalizing spending, and ensuring fairness among those subject to the social security system, to be sufficient and valid justifications.

These reasons give the decision a social dimension that maintains equality among similar positions, without any deviation or abuse of power. The court affirmed that continuing to disburse the exceptional pensions at their previous value, despite changed financial circumstances, could place an undue burden on the public treasury, adding that this situation justifies adjustment without constituting a violation of acquired rights. The court ruled that the contested decision was issued by the competent authority and was based on factual and legal grounds that justify it.