site.btaNumber of Magistrates in Bulgaria Grows Every Year - Institute for Market Economics

The number of judges and prosecutors/investigators relative to the population in Bulgaria is growing every year, and it already exceeds 62 per 100,000, the Institute for Market Economics said.

This indicator is influenced both by the country's declining population and the relatively strong incentives for the system to retain and recruit more magistrates.

The swiftness of justice is an important factor that characterizes its timeliness. It is measured primarily by the share of cases that have not been completed within the three-month time frame, i.e., pending cases. By 2020, the share of pending cases had gradually increased, accounting for 21% of all cases. Then it dropped to around 20% - one in five cases in Bulgaria was delayed by more than three months in 2022, the data show.

The results of the court activities can also be illustrated by the share of appealed and contested cases and the share of discontinued cases. The number of cases appealed slightly decreased over the same period and accounted for up to 10% of all cases to be heard. Cases discontinued for various reasons increased marginally to 14.5% in 2022.

A judge completed an average of 23 cases per month in 2022. Over a ten-year period, the cost of a completed case increased threefold and is now approaching BGN 2,000.

The budget of the courts is only slightly larger than the budget of the prosecution service. In 2023, the courts’ budget was just over BGN 550 million, whereas the prosecution service budget was close to BGN 400 million, the data show.