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Bulgarian Judges,
Prosecutors
Among Lowest Paid in EU


Brussels/Strasbourg, October 4 (BTA correspondent Nikolay Jeliazkov) - Bulgarian judges and prosecutors are among the lowest paid in the EU, shows a report on the European judicial system by the Council of Europe.

The annual salary for judges and prosecutors at the beginning of their career is 18,867 euro compared with an average annual gross salary of 5,900 euro. Magistrates in Hungary have the lowest starting salaries at 16,916 euro compared with an average annual gross salary of 10,537 euro.

In 2016, the per capita expenditures for the judicial system in Bulgaria were 37 euro or 0.56 per cent of GDP. Between 2014 and 2016 the budget for the judiciary grew by 12 per cent to 377,099,680 euro, outspacing the average increase of public expenditures. The report says that the increase in expenditures was due to migration and the need to employ interpreters and experts for assessment of asylum applications.

The figures show that in 2014 the number of judges in Bulgaria increased by 4 per cent, and between 2010 and 2016 the number of prosecutors increased by 8 per cent. Between 2012 and 2016 the number of lawyers grew by 15 per cent.

The report acknowledges that between 2012 and 2016 the duration in which court proceedings were concluded at first instance was shortened and the number of cases conclusively resolved at first and second instance grew steadily. Meanwhile the duration of appellate proceedings was extended. Since 2012 the number of concluded cases by first instance administrative courts has steadily declined. Proceedings before the Supreme Administrative Court have sped up, show the report. LI/PP
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