I can only repeat that the value of the judicial annuity is 22.5% of salary and that it then creates a real value of $294,000 per annum. The government believes the commission's salary recommendation placed undue emphasis on the third statutory criterion, which is another criterion that I haven't talked about: attracting outstanding candidates.
There does not appear to be a shortage of outstanding candidates for the bench. The commission's proposal overshoots the mark in defining the level of salary increase necessary to ensure outstanding candidates for the judiciary, and therefore we came, as a government, to the conclusion that the more reasonable salary proposal would be $232,000, or 7.25%, as of April 1, 2004.