Zagreb - Both the governing majority and the opposition voiced their support on Friday for increasing salaries and entitlements for judicial officials during a parliamentary debate on amendments to the law governing their pay.
"The key to perception is trust in the judiciary, and that trust must come from within the judiciary itself. When cases are resolved more quickly, efficiently and effectively, public perception will shift from negative to positive," MP Ivica Ledenko (Bridge) said during the debate on the proposal to amend the Salaries and Entitlements of Judicial Officials Act.
Mišel Jakšić (Social Democratic Party) pointed out the negative public perception of the judiciary. "The fact is that citizens do not trust the Croatian judiciary. When cases involving high-profile arrests take ten years to even begin, how can anyone have faith in such a judicial system?" he asked.
Reduction in the number of unresolved cases
Minister of Justice, Administration and Digital Transformation Damir Habijan acknowledged that some court cases take too long but noted that the number of unresolved cases has been significantly reduced. "When we joined the EU, we had around 800,000 unresolved cases; now we have 420,000," he stated.
The minister recalled that, upon assuming his current position, he had identified public perception of the judiciary as a priority. However, he argued that some MPs contribute to this negative perception by speaking about the judiciary in highly critical terms. "My priority over the remaining three and a half years of this term is to improve public perception as much as possible," he said.
Habijan also noted that courts receive approximately 1,260,000 new cases annually, with around 557,000 of these related to land registry matters.
Responding to comments from Marijana Puljak (Centre) that the number of judges per capita should be significantly lower, Habijan said that this number must be considered in relation to the annual influx of court cases. "Given the high number of cases, the judiciary requires an adequate number of judges," he argued.
He also warned of an ageing judiciary, stating that there are currently only 16 judges under the age of 34, while nearly 700 judges are between the ages of 60 and 70.
"We will soon face a shortage of judges," Habijan cautioned, adding that, for the first time in many years, the government has announced the recruitment of trainees for 178 positions in judicial institutions.
The proposed amendments, which are being fast-tracked, would increase the salary base for judicial officials and align it with that of state and public service employees, setting it at €947.18 gross. The law is expected to come into force on 1 March.
In addition to the salary increase, the proposed amendments also grant judicial officials additional entitlements, including Easter bonuses, holiday allowances, Christmas bonuses, gifts for children up to the age of 15, and entitlement to regular medical check-ups.