No Further Increase in Magistrates’ Salaries

Magistrates’ salaries will not increase from now on, and the method by which they are indexed will be changed, Justice Minister Nikolay Naydenov announced at a briefing. He stressed that the independence of the judiciary is linked to the independence of magistrates in making their decisions, but this does not mean that the judiciary is detached from the overall state process, including the budget process.

According to Naydenov, such decisions are related to the overall state of the country’s budget and finances, and everyone must share the burden equally. He said this is part of the executive branch’s broader effort to change automatic mechanisms for salary increases, adding that some texts could be refined, but this is the general direction.

The minister also said that the election of a new Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) will mark the beginning of judicial reform and some legislative changes that are currently being prepared. He noted that today’s meeting of the SJC, as well as the previous one, had shown that the body is exhausted and should be replaced as soon as possible.

Today, the Plenum of the SJC opened new staff positions after the expiration of the two-year term of junior judges, the SJC press center confirmed to BTA. Last week, the Plenum opened 15 staff positions for judges at the Sofia District Court and cut 15 positions in 11 courts across the country.