A Hungarian trial judge had grown tired of judicial salaries not increasing for three consecutive years and decided to turn to the European Commission with his complaint.
The complaint aims to urge effective measures to restore the independence of Hungarian courts, taking into account the fact that the inadequacy of legal regulations regarding the compensation of judges and judicial employees in Hungary leads to a systemic and long-term violation of institutional independence that is contrary to EU law
– wrote Dr. Gaszton Oláh, judge at the Budapest Regional Court, in his complaint. He has also sent the document, the consequences of which could potentially lead to an EU infringement procedure against Hungary, to 24.hu.
“For years, judges and prosecutors have been forced to witness the social appreciation that is reflected in their salaries sink to disgraceful depths, and the profession remains shocked to see how the entire judicial leadership is unsuccessful in trying to combat this phenomenon. Enough is enough. Proper compensation within the branches of government could never and can never be a budgetary issue. As it has never been one in the case of the other two, the Parliament and the government.
Anyone claiming that the Hungarian budget, totalling approximately 40 trillion forints, lacks the sufficient funds to ensure the proper functioning of the most fundamental democratic institution should come to their senses
– Gaszton Oláh told our paper. He expects that if the government does not act on its own, it will be forced to address the issue by the European Commission’s intercession.
“As anyone can file a complaint with the European Commission, I encourage my colleagues, not only judges and judicial employees but also prosecutors and prosecution staff, to file complaints of their own, even if it has the exact same content as mine. The more of us join forces, the greater the weight and significance of our action” – he added.
We have published several articles about the increasingly difficult situation of judges and judicial employees, which at this point threatens the very functioning of the courts as per some court leaders. Despite the staggering inflation, the judicial salary base has not been adjusted since January 2022, resulting in salaries losing more than one-third of their real value. Consequentially, judicial employees are leaving the profession at alarming rates. Attrition has begun among judges as well, as even a security guard is hired at a higher hourly wage than a starting judge, and some are forced to supplement their income by donating blood plasma.
In his complaint, Oláh lists the following arguments as to why the current legal regulation of judges’ and judicial employees’ salaries is incompatible with the principle of judicial independence:
- it does not ensure that Hungarian judges and judicial employees receive compensation worthy of the significance of the judicial profession,
- it lacks any mechanism to guarantee the preservation of the real value of judicial and judicial employee salaries,
- and it does not ensure the separation of the judiciary from the other two branches of power, as it does not entail a legal framework that would allow the determination of judges’ and judicial employees’ compensation based on objective and verifiable criteria, free from arbitrary interference by the executive and legislative powers, and therefore wages in the judiciary depend entirely on the political will of the executive and legislative powers.
- Last but not least, it goes contrary to the requirement of balance between branches of power, considering that the regulations set significantly lower compensation for judges compared to representatives of both the executive and legislative powers.
“The systemic nature of the problem is verified by the fact that this is not the first time that the underfunding of the Hungarian judicial system leads to a critical situation within the third branch of power. Over a ten-year period, this has been the second time judges’ and judicial employees’ compensation packages lose their value for years to come. The Hungarian legal system’s failure to ensure the preservation of the real value of judicial salaries, and to provide a correction mechanism to at least offset the effects of inflation, caused a similar crisis in the judiciary between 2016 and 2019. Therefore, the aim of the complaint is not merely a one-time increase in the judicial salary base defined by budgetary regulation, but to establish a regulatory framework that ensures the financial independence of the judicial system in the long run. As long as the Hungarian regulatory environment does not ensure that judicial salaries follow socio-economic realities and leaves the determination of judges’ and judicial employees’ salaries entirely to the decision of the government and the parliamentary majority,
the regulations institutionally threaten judicial independence and allows the executive and legislative powers to exert systematic, repeated, and long-term pressure on the judiciary through its compensation
– wrote the judge of the Budapest Regional Court.
The European Commission has up to 12 months to examine the complaint. If it finds the claims justified, it can initiate an infringement procedure. In this case, the Commission will first send a notice to the Hungarian authorities, requesting them to address the situation, to which the government would have to respond within two months. Should they not act appropriately or fail to dispel the Commission’s concerns, the Commission will issue a formal notice and then turn to the European Court of Justice, whose decision is binding on member states.
Gaszton Oláh hopes that the government and the Parliament will not risk another infringement procedure.
“At the meeting of the National Judicial Council (OBT), it was mentioned that a one per cent salary increase for the entire judicial system and its administration would cost approximately one billion forints. The OBT requested a 35 per cent retroactive salary increase, which would cost roughly 35 billion forints” – said the complainant judge, who believes that the current situation can hardly be interpreted in any other way than that the government is not interested in ensuring that the judiciary – as the third branch of power in the system of checks and balances – fulfils its role appropriately.
From the government side, State Secretary of Justice Róbert Répássy stated at the OBT’s April meeting that an increase in judicial salaries was out of the budget this year. However, he considered it possible that other judicial employees, who are facing an even worse financial situation, may receive some sort of salary adjustment. Since then, 24.hu has inquired at the Ministry of Justice multiple times regarding both this issue and the case of raising the judicial salary base – no response has been given.
