The Constitutional Court starts a case regarding the calculation of judges’ salaries

The Constitutional Court will assess whether the former and current regulation of judges’ remuneration did not and does not contradict the Constitution to the extent that the basic amount of the judges’ official salary and the official salary itself are calculated without taking into account clearly defined criteria or economic indicators.

The Administrative Court of Regions turned to the Supreme Court following suspending the pending administrative cases regarding the property damage, which the judges of the courts of general competence seek to claim as the part of the judge’s salary not received from August 2019 to December 2022 due to a faulty calculation.

According to the court, the calculation of the official salary of judges must be linked to a specific relative amount, calculated from a certain economic indicator objectively determined in the state, such as the average wage (VDU).

According to the court, if this is not established, the conditions are created for situations where judges’ salaries are not proportionally increased to the extent that relevant indicators such as VDU or minimum monthly wage (MMA) increase.

According to the applicant, in the absence of such objectively defined criteria, state authorities “can determine and approve both the base amount used for calculating the official salary of judges and the official salary coefficient at their discretion, with decisions that depend on their will and without any legal basis”.

The Regional Administrative Court also states that since 2013, when the MMA was rapidly raised in the country and the country’s VDU increased, the judges’ salaries were not proportionally increased to such an extent.

According to the court, the salaries of judges have become closer to MMA and VDU, which actually means a decrease in judges’ salaries, because following the end of the economic crisis, the ratio of judges’ salaries to VDU ​​and MMA has not been restored to the level it was before the economic crisis of 2008.

According to the Regional Administrative Court, such a situation is “incompatible with the dignity of the judge’s profession and the judge’s responsibility”.