SJC freezes judicial system salaries until the end of 2026

This year, remuneration in the judicial system will not increase further and will remain at the levels set at the beginning of 2026. Expenditures for the salaries of magistrates and judicial staff must maintain the level reached in 2026, with funding provided only for filled positions within the judiciary. This is stipulated in the draft budget for the year, adopted by the "Supreme Judicial Council" (SJC), reports "Lex".

On February 5, the council already updated the remuneration of magistrates and staff by 5%, as provided for by the "Law on Revenue Collection and Expenditure in 2026" (ZSPIR) until the adoption of the "State Budget Law". The increase was retroactive to January 1. Thus, at the supreme level, the base salary became 4,874 euros, at the appellate level – 4,032 euros, at the district level in Sofia – 3,606 euros, and in the rest of the country – 3,334 euros. At the regional level in the capital, remuneration is 2,928 euros, and in the country – 2,630 euros. The lowest salaries in the system – those of junior magistrates – reached 2,450 euros.

Separately, judges, prosecutors, and investigators receive additional remuneration for rank and length of service – 2% per year, but no more than 20% in total. They also have funds for clothing, as well as various bonuses.

Money for rank is also updated by 5%. For the first rank, magistrates receive 258 euros, for the second – 354 euros, and for the third – 397 euros.

About ten days ago, Finance Minister "Galab Donev" stated that the cabinet would put an end to automatic salary increases in a number of sectors, including the judicial system, and these measures would be included in the "2026 State Budget Law".

Therefore, at the beginning of the last meeting of the SJC Plenum this week, Minister of Justice "Nikolay Naydenov" urged the personnel officers to comply with this approach and to adhere to "minimalism" in their budget requests.

The chairman of the budget committee "Stefan Petrov" recalled that in September last year, the SJC adopted a draft budget for 2026 in the amount of 996,193,700 euros, but it is now proposed to be 787,648,000 euros – that is, 208,545,700 euros less.

For 2027, the SJC sets a budget of 789,527,000 euros, and for 2028 – 793,309,000 euros.

"We have no room to step back any further, and if these funds that we request to be provided for the judicial system are not allocated, there will be no normal workflow in the judiciary," stated Stefan Petrov.

He emphasized repeatedly that vacant positions in the judicial system are not financially secured, unlike in executive branch bodies, where the opposite is true. Petrov clarified that for years, vacancies in the judicial system have not been funded, which creates tension when there is a need to fill the staff.

The draft also provides an amount of 2,137,500 euros for holding elections for SJC members, which further strains the limited resources for the year.